Emily Takes a Chance
by Phirechild
Summary: A simple Friday night out with Spencer leads Emily to someone who may change her life forever.
1. Chapter 1

Emily wasn't quite sure how Spencer had talked her into going to a basketball game at the U of Penn, but Spencer had somehow managed to get her through the double doors of the mostly empty gym. Spencer was never one to really get excited about basketball, but for some reason, today she seemed quite giddy about having to sit through an hour of other girls running up and down the hardwood court for competitive glory.

They took a seat nearly four rows up from the floor and behind the U of Penn's bench and waited for some activity to begin. They didn't have to wait long, as both teams sprinted from their locker rooms and gathered around opposing baskets to take warm-up shots. Spencer stood up excitedly and waved enthusiastically as one of the girls caught a pass and hoisted the ball up towards the basket. Swish. The girl repeated the action three more times before noticing Spencer waving wildly in the stands.

"Spencer! You made it," the girl smiled brightly tossing a ball back to her teammate. "Sorry this game is ruining your Friday night, but…"

"But, I never get to see you anymore and if I have to give up a Friday night to see you, it's well worth it," Spencer said wrapping the girl up in a hug. "Emily, this is Jru; Jru this is Emily Fields."

Emily ran her hand through her hair uncomfortably. "Hi," she managed tightly.

Jru suppressed a laugh. "Seems like you ruined someone else's Friday too," she noted. "Hey, I have to warm up, but as soon…"

"Go," Spencer smiled. "Have a great game too!" Spencer sat back down; trying to ignore the strong glare Emily was giving her. After a few seconds, she gave up. "What Em?"

Emily rolled her eyes, "So you bring me to the basketball game of the swim coach's niece?"

"Jru is a good friend of mine, Em…" Spencer shrugged. "I can't help that she is super well -connected …"

"She was your natural enemy for three years! The only reason you like her now is because she graduated a year earlier and is no longer competition," Emily shot back quickly. "I told you, I don't want to go to U of Penn."

"A swimming scholarship here is like the best thing ever," Spencer rationed. "And plus, we could go to college together!" Spencer had given up hope that Hanna would make it to any college, not to mention an Ivy League one, and Aria seemed more interested into going to any liberal arts college more than U of Penn so Emily was her only hope. "Just watch the game and enjoy it…"

Emily didn't have any rebuttal. She and Paige weren't exactly on strong footing, so she didn't really want to be in Rosewood and her mother and Hanna's mother had decided to take a "girl's weekend" so what exactly would be the harm in enjoying a weekend with Spencer and Jru?

"She's really good," Emily had to admit by halftime. Jru and her team were up by fifteen points and she had only missed three shots. Jru wasn't exactly hard on the eyes either but Emily hated the fact that she was even noticing. She couldn't forget the information that Spencer had shared about Jru out of her head, which she really hated. Jru had come out a bit before Emily and according to Spencer had dated one hot older girl after another.

"Yeah, this is not so bad," Spencer decided. The gym had filled up a bit more and a group of three had parked themselves in front of Spencer and Emily. "Oh hell; that's Jru's mother," Spencer whispered in somewhat awe. "She is a congresswoman."

"Excuse me if I don't wet myself," Emily sighed sarcastically. She never understood Spencer's love for political figures or power, but Emily had to assume that it had something to do with her family. The Hastings weren't exactly normal individuals and they were drawn to power.

The second half started and Jru returned to her previous rout of the competition. With nearly three minutes to go, she already had thirty points, ten rebounds and eight steals, which Emily understood was a great game so far. Still, she could hear the group in front of her and Spencer's conversation. "They better not take her out before she gets two more steals, or four assists," the younger woman said. "How embarrassing would it be not to get a triple-double against this team?" Emily glanced at Spencer with a raised brow. Spencer shrugged awkwardly, expelling a loud breath.

Jru stepped in front a pass and sprinted down the court dribbling as quickly as possible. Although a defender from the other team was close behind, Jru was already in the air for a lay-up before the girl could properly attempt to block her. When she came down from the lay-up, the girl was still under the basket and Jru landed awkwardly on the girl's foot.

"Geez," Spencer popped up from her seat in agony for her friend. Emily hopped up too, like most of the other people in the gym. It took a few moments of writhing on the ground in pain before Jru tried to stand and limped off the court.

"Well, there goes the triple-double," the girl rolled her eyes in disgust.

It was nearly twenty minutes later when Jru hopped back into the gym. "Mom, Dad, Kelly, you made it," Jru tried to muster up any enthusiasm although she was in pain. She talked to them for a few moments before making her way back over to Emily and Spencer.

"Good game," Spencer said sincerely. "How is the ankle?"

"It's more of the knee that's killing me, but it's fine. It messed up my triple-double though," Jru pouted.

"You really keep up with that in your head?" Emily asked trying not to focus too distinctly on Jru. She was more beautiful after she had showered and changed into a pair of blue jeans, white long sleeve shirt and black leather jacket. Her caramel skin and hazel eyes simmered under the gym lights and her mouth was outlined with pink lip gloss.

"Of course I do," she seemed confused. "Anyways, since you guys drove up, let me take you to dinner," Jru offered smiling warmly. "There is this great bistro right up the street."

"What about your family?" Spencer asked looking over Jru's shoulder.

"My parents are headed back to DC and my sister…God, who knows…but we don't hang out," Jru said sternly. "We are more competitors than sisters."

"Amen," Spencer mumbled her understanding.

"So you are the swimmer?" Jru asked during dinner. Emily had been quiet through most of the meal but when Jru smiled at her, Emily couldn't help but smile back. Now that she seemed to have Jru's full attention, she couldn't help but blush a bit too.

"Yeah, I swim," Emily said humbly.

"Spencer said you are really good…I'd like to see you swim sometime," Jru smiled seductively. Emily wasn't sure if Jru meant to be flirting or not, because it struck her that Jru was the kind of girl who flirted without really knowing it. Still, Emily shifted a bit in the comfortable seat of the restaurant and tucked a lock of black hair behind her ear. "Anyways, you guys wanna go to a concert tonight…I have passes to this cool live band from around campus…"

"We'd love too," Spencer answered for them both.

"Cool, we can take my car. The show is a bit off campus," Jru smiled, exposing her dimples again. Emily hated the fact that she was feeling a small flutter in her stomach every time Jru looked her way.

Jru paid the check and led the girls back around the corner to the gym parking lot. It was pretty much empty besides Spencer's car and a few other cars lined up near the gym entrance. Jru made her way over to a black Jaguar and although Emily didn't want to be impressed, it was a beautiful vehicle.

The trance of Jru's car was broken when Spencer's phone rang inside of her bag. "Hold on a sec," Spencer quickly pressed the speak button on the screen.

Jru pressed a button on her key chain and then opened the passenger side door. "You should get in," she told Emily, "it's freezing out here." Emily hadn't noticed that she had been shivering just enough that it was noticeable. Emily looked back at Spencer, who was in deep conversation with someone on the phone. "I don't bite," Jru promised.

"Hey guys, bad news…I gotta head back to Rosewood," Spencer informed them.

"Is something wrong?" Emily asked a bit too worriedly. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms trying to warm up.

"No, it's just Toby," Spencer began. "He said he just has to see me soon. I really hate messing up the night though."

"If you still wanna go hear the band, Emily, I can drive you back to Rosewood later; or you can crash at my apartment," Jru offered.

Emily looked from Spencer to Jru, who was now leaning on her hood. "Yeah Em," Spencer agrees, "the concert sounds fun and I don't wanna ruin you guys' night. I'll call you guys later?"

"Sure," Jru hugged Spencer. "Thanks for coming up, and I'll make sure to take care of your friend."

"You'd better," Spencer said seriously, then smiled. She headed to her car and zoomed off into the night.

"You gonna get in now?" Jru asked Emily sarcastically. Emily got into the car and settled on the black leather seats.

They were well on the road before Emily found the nerve to speak. "I've never seen a twenty year old drive a Jaguar."

"Not every nineteen year old has a thirty-two year old sister who decided she was a BMW girl after her parents had bought her a Jag," Jru countered. "It's a hand-me-down," she assured Emily. She slowed down in front of a small building and parallel parked in front of it. They both got out and Jru hit the button on her key chain to lock her doors.

"Do you come here often?" Emily asked as they headed through the door and into the darkly lit club. Jru took her by the hand and she automatically tensed up, but followed her through the club and to a table near the stage. _Hey Jru…_she had heard a few times but Jru didn't stop until they were seated.

"Yeah, I come here a bit," Jru managed to say before the bass player keyed the band.

"This band is really great," Emily had to admit after listening to the first set of the band. She was relaxing a bit, beginning to sway with the music and enjoy herself.

"So you are enjoying yourself," Jru asked skeptically, "I thought you were destined to go back to Rosewood with Spencer. Thanks for staying." Jru exposed her dimples again and Emily couldn't help but melt a little.

"I feel like everyone is kinda look at us," Emily realized. The band was in their intermission and people were mostly circling around the tables and talking now.

Jru frowned and then begin to laugh. "They are definitely not looking at me," Jru allowed her eyes to take in Emily in her casual black leggings and purple low-cut sweater. "But it would definitely be understandable if they were looking at you." Emily smiled widely, exposing all of her perfect white teeth. It was becoming harder and harder to remember that she and Paige were dating, much to Emily's chagrin. Luckily, someone stopped at their table to break the moment.

"Jru, you didn't tell me you were coming tonight," a tall attractive girl broke in. She stared at Emily, rolled her eyes and then focused back on Jru.

Sitting back with frustration, Jru turned to Emily. "Emily, this is Sienna, the bane of my existence. Sienna, this is Emily, my new friend."

"Cute…" Sienna didn't try to hide her disgust now. "Dance with me…so we can talk in private."

"I'll pass," Jru said with the first hint of real attitude. "Dance with Ashleigh, I'm sure she's somewhere here…" The band began again, preventing Sienna from responding and she moved through the crowd with obvious frustration.

It was nearly an hour later, after they had heard two more sets that Emily got her chance to ask Jru about the girl. They had exited the club and Jru had unlocked the door for her. When she got into the driver's seat, Emily asked a bit too curiously, "So, who was that girl?"

Jru glanced at her for a moment and let out a labored breath. "The bane of my existence," she repeated dryly. "So, am I driving you to Rosewood tonight?"

Emily spotted the clock on her dashboard. It was barely even ten at night and she was in no mood to go home to an empty house; especially when she and Paige weren't exactly getting along. She didn't want to spend an entire night, not to mention, an entire weekend thinking about what was going wrong with her and Paige. She knew that Paige was going to be a bit clingy or protective after all that has happened between them, but it was becoming infuriating. Paige wanted to be picked over all of her other friends and after all, she, Aria, Hanna and Spencer had been through, Emily knew she just couldn't do that.

"I don't mind if we do something else," Emily decided.

"Nice," Jru said brightly. She grinned…"Let me take you somewhere fun…"

Emily thought about it for a moment. She had nothing to lose… "Okay!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"I wanted to be a ballerina when I was younger," Jru admitted watching the guys on stage stretching against the bars around the room. Emily observed as Jru watched the gathering group on the stage with silent envy. She couldn't imagine Jru not doing something she wanted to do, so she had to ask…

"Why aren't you then?" Emily asked softly. Jru glanced over at her, her hazel eyes lit from the balcony lights.

"Too tall, too athletic and bad feet," Jru rattled off carefully. Soft music started up on the stage and the dancers begin to take their places on the stage. "I didn't bring you here to complain about my lack of ballerina skills though…listen to the music." Emily was quiet for a moment, listening to the soft music playing over the loud speakers in the auditorium.

"Did you write this?" Emily was impressed.

"Yeah each part of it," Jru admitted humbly. "It's for the winter program."

"Your parents must be so impressed." Jru sank down lower in the auditorium seat and shook her head no. Emily felt as if she had stepped on a landmine and now she wasn't really sure what to say. The song ended and Jru sat up a bit more.

"This is my favorite one," she whispered. "I even wrote the cello parts for this one."

"You know how to play the cello?" Emily couldn't help but grin. "Only dorks know how to play the cello."

Jru had to grin at this and she bumped into Emily playfully. "The cello is a very sexy instrument. I am very sexy." Although Jru was only playing, Emily definitely couldn't deny the fact that she was sexy. She had beautiful skin and eyes and Emily didn't even want to think about her body. She was athletic, much like Emily but a bit more toned and defined.

They watched the ballerinas until the end of the song, before they headed back outside into the cool air. Emily shivered. Jru removed her leather jacket and handed it over to Emily. "No, I'm fine," Emily lied.

"Okay… take it anyways," Jru insisted.

"So, what exactly is your major here?" Emily asked putting on the warm jacket. It smelled of Dolce and Gabbana's Light Blue perfume and was more comfortable than Emily imagined it would be.

"Oh, it really doesn't matter what I major in," Jru sighed, "because I'm going to become a politician. My mother is a politician, my sister is a politician, my grandmother was a politician …if I'm not a politician, I'll be a huge disappointment. But my official major is bioengineering. The only way I can beat my sister's entrance into politics is to avoid becoming a lawyer."

"Is it really all competition with you and your sister?"

"She was thirteen when I was born, so yeah." Jru chuckled though. "It's not as bad as I make it seem, I promise." Jru and Emily passed a group of people headed towards the brick building in front of them. "Dammit, my neighbor must be having a party tonight."

"Is that a bad thing?" Emily smiled.

"Yes! They play the worse music," Jru's dimple appeared.

Jru was right. By the time she and Emily settled on her leather couch, the neighbor's music was blasting through the walls and it was awful. Jru turned on the television and surround sound. "I can't believe you get to live off of campus as a freshman."

"There are perks to the family name," Jru shrugged. "What do you want to watch?"

Emily took the remote and scanned through the channels. "Oh, the Notebook is on," Emily settled into the crux of the sofa. Jru settled on the other side of the couch.

"Okay, we'll watch this and then I'll drive you home…"

* * *

Emily heard the alarm first, blaring from Jru's phone on the table in front of them. They hadn't made it through the first thirty minutes of the movie before both had fallen to sleep. Emily stretched out against Jru's knee which startled her awake. "Sorry," Emily mumbled groggily. Jru sat up and turned off the phone alarm.

"Dammit," Jru moaned. "What time is it?"

Emily pulled out her phone, which had four missed calls and five text messages and looked at the time. "It's five forty-five. Who sets their alarm for five forty-five on a Saturday?" she rubbed her eyes.

Jru rubbed her knee. It had locked up during the night and it didn't help that Emily had slept across it the entire night. "I try to get three miles in before practice at eight but my knee is way too sore to run this morning. Wow, I was supposed to driving you home… you aren't going to get in trouble are you?"

Emily opened up a few text messages. One was from Aria, two were from Spencer and two were from Paige. "No, I'm fine," Emily assured her.

"Good," Jru stood up and stretched. "I'm going to get changed into my practice gear and then I promise I'll drive you home." Jru disappeared into the bedroom, giving Emily a chance to check her messages.

The first voice message was from Spencer. "Hey Em, sorry about tonight; Toby was just really upset about something. Hope it wasn't too awkward hanging out with Jru. I'll leave the door open for you tonight at home. If you get in before me, key's under the mat at the backdoor!"

The remaining three were all from Paige. "Hey, know you are hanging out with Spencer tonight but I miss you. Just wanted to hear you voice." "Hey Emily, what's up, is something wrong with us, because you haven't been returning my calls. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Just give me a call soon okay." "Emily, just checking in," she sounded super sad this time, which made Emily feel horribly. It was way too early to call her right now, but it went to the top of Emily's list. It was the top of her list until she saw Jru coming around the corner in her sweatpants and sports bra. Toned was an understatement, Emily realized. Jru had six packed abs that were still a bit wet from her quick shower. Jru pulled her black and auburn highlighted hair back into a ponytail and looked around the room for her shoes.

"Ready?" she asked, pulling on a tee shirt and then U of Penn sweatshirt. She jumped into a pair of tennis shoes while Emily stood and headed towards the door.

"Is something wrong?" Jru asked a bit confused. Emily had been quiet most of the way back to Rosewood, giving Jru the cold shoulder for something she hadn't done. It wasn't Jru's fault that Emily and Paige were on the rocks or that Emily was freezing Paige out without much explanation. Still, Emily feared that she liked Jru a little too much and there was a chance that Jru liked her too.

"Nah," Emily shrugged off her thoughts for a moment. "I'm going to actually go to Spencer's," she informed Jru.

"Okay," Jru pulled onto Spencer's street. She pulled in front of Spencer's house and stopped. "Well, I had fun last night," Jru admitted although Emily wouldn't look at her. "Give me a call if you are ever near campus again."

"Sure," was all Emily offered before getting out of Jru's car and not looking back.

* * *

"You slept over at Jru's house?" Spencer asked in awe. She repositioned herself on the large kitchen island and took a sip of her coffee. Emily had come in and had been eerily quiet, taking a quick shower and changing before meeting Spencer downstairs for breakfast. "I thought you had probably just gone home or ended up at Paige's…but you stayed with Jru?"

"It was an accident!" Emily said too forcefully. She wrapped her arms around herself to try and calm her nerves. Before she had a chance to say anything else, Aria, followed by Hanna, came to the backdoor. Emily opened the door and allowed them to trail in. This would at least stop the conversation for now.

"What's up guys?" Aria asked happily.

"Emily spent the night with Jru…" Spencer blurted out. Emily cut her eyes at her friend. "What, she asked what was up," Spencer looked down into her cup of coffee.

"Hold on, Jru Favors? The little sister of Kelly Favors?" Hanna asked with astonishment. Everyone paused and shot puzzled looks at Hanna, who was helping herself to a glass of orange juice.

"How do you know Jru or Kelly Favors?" Spencer questioned curiously. Jru had attended a private school in Philadelphia and it was highly unlikely that she and Hanna had met academically or competitively.

"Jru walked in fashion week last season. She wore this amazing half cut, silk wrapped dress and the cutest pair of black platform Jimmy Choo's I've ever seen," Hanna said almost salivating. "And don't get me started on Kelly Favors; she literally shuts stores down when she shops! Oh, and Jru like dated that new designer from New York…Colby Saint…they were a fashion IT couple for a while."

Emily turned and looked at Spencer while Aria was still fixed on Hanna. "What, I know fashion…" Hanna rationed at Aria's continued attention. "What do you and Jru have in common anyways, Em?" she asked breaking open a bagel.

"Nothing," Emily answered uncomfortably. "I just went to hang out with Spencer and she bailed on me," Emily accused.

"Hmmm, but you stayed," Aria noted raising a brow.

"It would have been rude not to after she invited us to a show," Emily answered quickly. "Why are we talking about what I did last night? What did everyone else do? I mean, what was so important that Toby had to see you right away Spencer?"

"Oh, he's worried that I'm talking to Jason…even though he's harmless and my big brother," Spencer sighed. Good, Emily thought, at least the spotlight was off of her for a while. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little jealous at the new information Hanna had shared. Who exactly was Colby Saint and how long had Jru dated her? Even though she knew she had no right to feel any type of way about Jru, a bit of jealousy bubbled up in Emily. Colby Saint…definitely someone to Google later on.

"Hey guys," Emily broke in after a while, "I need to go see Paige. I'll catch up with you guys later?"

"Okay," Aria and Hanna said almost in unison, but Spencer only gave her a skeptical look before hopping off the countertop and pouring herself a bowl of cereal.

The walk to Paige's was plagued with thoughts of Jru. Emily didn't want to admit that she liked Jru's smile or the way she played basketball or the way she had the ability to be soft, but strong and confident at the same time. She definitely didn't want to admit that she was so jealous of the thought of her with another girl that she had googled Colby Saint on the walk to her girlfriend's house!

Colby Saint, the pretty, petite brunette popped onto the screen with shimmering enthusiasm. Even her picture emitted a sort of glow. Strolling through the pictures, Emily stopped on the one of her and Jru lounging on a bench at some type of function; they looked perfect for one another.

Emily exited out of the webpage in frustration and cleared the search history before she stepped onto Paige's porch. Paige opened the door before Emily even had a chance to ring the doorbell. A mixture of worry, relief and frustration washed over Paige's face.

"Where were you all night?" Paige tried not to sound angr,y but it was hard not to when she had left so many messages.

"I was hanging out with Spencer," Emily said as calmly as possible. "I told you that we were hanging out on Thursday," she reminded her girlfriend.

Paige wrapped Emily in an awkward hug. "I'm sorry honey, I just worry," she admitted. "With everything that has happened…when you don't answer my calls, I just think about everything that could be wrong." Emily slowly returned the gesture even though it made her uncomfortable. Paige had been using this excuse over and over the past couple of months and it was getting old.

They settled on a swing on Paige's porch. "Oh, I just thought I saw Spencer's car passing The Grill last night," Paige mentioned nonchalantly.

"Yeah, she got a call from Toby," Emily began honestly, "but I stayed with her friend, Jru. She had gotten us concert tickets and I didn't want to waste her money."

Emily could see Paige's expression change a moment then return back to happy. "Oh, was a good concert?"

"It was okay," Emily answered. Paige took her hand.

"I'm glad you are here now, though," she grinned. "We can spend the entire day together."

"Oh…fun," Emily plastered a smile on her face and sit back to rock.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Spencer hadn't wanted to tell Emily where she was most likely to find Jru on campus, but when her best friend wakes her up on a Monday morning, there is very little information she wouldn't be willing to give up for a few more minutes of sleep. Jru was where Spencer had told Emily she would be, in the athletic training department on a long metal table. A young guy hovered over Jru, pushing her leg towards her midsection. Emily watched for a second as Jru grimaced.

"Hey you can't be here," the guy said from the corner. Jru turned her head and squinted.

"Hmm…she's with me Joshua," Jru said sitting up. He looked back at Emily, frowned but let it go.

"Do you want me to wrap this before you run?" he asked pointing to her knee.

Jru shook her head. "I'm going to probably swim instead of run …take some of the pressure off the knee."

"Good idea," he agreed. "I'll wrap it before practice this afternoon."

"Thanks Joshua," Jru smiled, hopping down off of the table as tenderly as possible. She folded her arms across her chest just examining Emily for a moment. No one was in the gym at eight in the morning, and no one every came to visit her, this early in the morning. She must have done something incredibly right or incredibly wrong on Friday night; yet at this point, she was a little nervous about finding out which was the correct assumption.

Neither girl seemed particularly eager to break the ice, but Emily stepped forward. She had been the one who drove all the way to campus to see a girl she had met only once. She might as well speak, she figured. "Your knee not any better?" was all she could come up with.

Jru shifted her weight and bounced a bit. "It's a combination of back and knee right now," Jru flinched. "Practice this weekend was a bit intense too…"

"You practiced even though you were hurt?" Emily asked gently. She already knew what the answer would be because she figured Jru was a lot like her. Nothing would keep her out of the pool and she knew that nothing would keep Jru off of the basketball court.

"I can't get rusty and out of shape over a sore knee, can I?" she leaned back and cracked her back. "Geez that feels better," she finally smiled. "It's just after eight in the morning," Jru stated innocently. She didn't have to elaborate any further, Emily got the hint. "I don't have classes today; I was going to kill myself with swimming for cardio and studying for next week's exams…you wanna swim?" she grinned mischievously.

"I don't have a suit…"

Ten minutes later, Jru was leading Emily down the stairwell to her uncle's office. The pool didn't officially open until ten-thirty, but being the niece of the coach had its perks. Jru knocked on the door and in a minute a tall thin guy opened the door. "Morning swim?" her uncle asked looking beyond Jru to Emily. His eyes did the questioning.

"Emily, this is Coach Hayes, my mother's brother. Coach, this is Emily Fields, do you have an extra swimsuit?"

"Is she going to push you in your morning cardio?" Hayes looked at Emily. He disappeared into his office for a moment and came back with a wrapped blue and red swimsuit. "Good luck," he said to Emily. "She's very competitive in the morning. You have an hour Jru." He disappeared back into his office while Emily went to change in the locker room.

Jru was already in the pool by the time she came back. She had put on a dark blue swim cap and was donning a two piece swim suit. She was lapping the pool aggressively, making crisp turns, trying to keep her cardio level high. After about six laps, she stopped and floated for a moment. "You getting in?" she asked with labored breath. Emily jumped in and swam over to Jru.

"So, what are we going to do?" Emily asked cautiously.

Jru exposed her pearly white teeth. "Race of course…"

* * *

"Are you going to blame your knee for the loss?" Emily smiled shyly. She had out-swim Jru for nearly forty-five minutes and now she was surprised that Jru was taking it so lightly. They both pulled out of the pool and lounged on the edge for a minute.

"I lost fair and square," Jru admitted shaking her head. "You are really good!"

"You seemed surprised," Emily teased.

"No," Jru laughed. "It just surprises me…what's under that beautifully quiet exterior? Or maybe you aren't quiet at all, and that was just used to fool me into looking like an ass in the pool."

"No one was here," Emily dried off quickly.

"No one wants to look like an ass in front of …" Jru let her words trail off. "You never told me why you really drove up here today."

"I'm sorry…about the way I acted Saturday morning…" Emily began. The words would barely remove themselves from her throat. "I was just…"

"You don't have to explain," Jru interrupted her softly. "It's just nice that you apologized. That doesn't happen often."

And that was the opening that Emily needed. She wasn't sure if she had driven up to the University just because she wanted to apologize to Jru. She could have gotten her number from Spencer, texted her or called her, but she really needed to see Jru if she wanted to know the truth about some things. Some things that wasn't her business at all; like who she was dating …

"So, your girlfriends don't apologize to you?" Emily asked after a few minutes. They were in the locker room and Jru had gotten Emily a pair of sweatpants and sweater so she wouldn't mess up her jeans. Jru held the door and a gush of cold air greeted them.

"I don't have a girlfriend. I definitely don't have multiple girlfriends," Jru informed Emily.

"Oh, so you never date?" They were headed up the block, towards the engineering library and now the campus was much more buzzed. Emily looked around, watching as students poured out from every corner of campus. A few people passed them, giving them the same attention as from Friday night. Emily felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny. "Can we go to your apartment or something?" When they were safely behind closed doors, Emily drifted back to the conversation at hand. "So you never date?"

"Not lately," Jru plopped down on the couch. "It's all about school; maybe I can just finish this program in three years and run from everything Favors for a while." Jru's eyes met Emily's for a moment. "Plus…love…it hurts terribly."

"Yeah," was all Emily could manage.

"I used to date this woman Colby. Utterly perfect on paper…smart, funny, creative as hell, friends with my sister. We dated for about six months, maybe a little longer…but she didn't like me; she loved the family number. The dinners, the events, the fact that my body was a perfect size four and she was a fashion designer," Jru tried to laugh but failed. Emily could sense the saddest in Jru's voice.

"She really hurt you?" Emily asked her eyes softening. She sat down beside Jru and turned towards her.

"She used me… I don't mind people being ambitious or not liking me, but using me," a tear escaped, "no one deserves to be used, Em."

"Yeah," was all Emily managed to whisper before sliding her lips ever so slowly over Jru's lips.

* * *

The best way to ruin what had turned out to be an amazing day is actually coming home to an interrogation process, Emily decided. It started with her mother, who had questioned her for nearly an hour about her daily whereabouts. She had eventually taken Emily's word that she just needed one day to herself and let the subject drop. Now, Emily only wished that Paige would do the same.

"I was worried sick…you didn't call or text me all day," Paige whined pacing back and forth around her room. "You missed swim practice and everything…Emily what's going on with you?" She sank down on the window-seat and buried her face in her hands. Paige had been worried about her and Emily's relationship for a few weeks now, but the closer it got to winter break, the more Emily seemed to be pulling away.

'I just needed a day," Emily said softly looking away from Paige. Her lips were still numb from Jru's kisses and she couldn't even look Paige in the eye. "We are fine…I'm sorry to make you worry but you and I are fine."

Paige breathed a big sigh of relief. "So you'll be at school tomorrow?" she stood up.

"Yes," Emily promised. She went over to hug Paige, to calm her nerves some, then pulled back and kissed her girlfriend.

"I have to go; my parents are holding something at the house…" Paige began explaining.

"I understand; Spencer is going to help me with some homework…"

"Cool, can I walk you to her house?" Paige asked picking on her coat and taking Emily's hand. They walked happily to Spencer's, Paige unaware that Emily had done anything wrong that day and Emily unwilling to acknowledge the fact either. It really wasn't until she sat, looking at a stone-faced Spencer, that she really became worried.

"What do you want me to say, Spencer? I was rude, I wanted to apologize?" Spencer cocked her head to the side and maintained her stone face. "Are you not going to say anything?"

"I really don't have anything to say," Spencer answered slowly.

"How could you not?" Emily questioned leaning up against the wall in Spencer's room.

"Okay, what's going on with you and Jru?"

"Nothing," Emily answered a bit too quickly and with no conviction. She wasn't a good liar, and Spencer could detect a lie quicker than a cop. "I don't know Spencer, I like her…I think too much," Emily finally admitted.

"You are not going to leave Paige; so why drag Jru into this?" Spencer asked immediately. She couldn't figure out if she was more annoyed for her friend, Emily or Jru; Emily because, although she wasn't as venomously against Emily and Paige's relationship as before, she knew that Paige wasn't right for Emily. Paige was safe and easy and after Maya's death, Emily found safe and easy to be a good thing. Still, she would always want something else. "Did you tell Jru that you had a girlfriend?"

"Why did you take me to meet Jru?" Emily blurted out.

"I didn't take you to meet Jru. I see her once or twice every couple of months and she happened to have a game. You came along with me…I wasn't formally introducing you two…" Spencer wasn't sure if she was lying or not. If she were going to hook Emily up with someone, it would be someone like Jru, but not like this. "You didn't answer my question. Did you tell Jru you had a girlfriend?"

"No," Emily said looking down. Spencer gave her that freshly minted look of disgust that made her feel guilt in the pit of her stomach. "I don't have to tell Paige about every girl I talk to…"

"How about every girl you wake me up at six in the morning to ask about, or every girl you spend a Friday night with, or the ones you disappear for? Emily…this is not going to end well," Spencer warned seriously. Too bad Emily already knew that this wasn't going to end well, but didn't care.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Emily had the striking idea that Paige could tell that something was wrong between the two of them. Even though she had only known Jru for three weeks, Emily's feelings had compounded themselves far quicker than she wished they would have. She found herself thinking about Jru and calling and texting her constantly, and it was obviously killing her relationship with Paige. Although they still saw each other pretty much every day and spent every weekday evening together, Emily could feel her and Paige's relationship hanging on a thread. It didn't help that on the weekends Emily lied to spend as much time as possible with Jru.

She had told her mother that she was practicing for recruiters at the university with one of Spencer's friends, which wasn't too much of a lie, and even though her mother said she eventually wanted to meet this Jru girl, she trusted Em enough to let her go on Friday nights and most of the day Saturday. Her mother could never give up an opportunity at a swim scholarship, especially at an Ivy League school. Paige was a bit harder to lie to since she was so set on asking a million questions. Still, Emily had mention Jru's name enough and the fact that her uncle was the swim coach that she believed Paige was beginning to believe her also.

This still didn't help with Spencer, who was pretty much freezing her out. Emily couldn't really figure out why Spencer was angry, besides the fact that her friend Jru may get hurt from the situation, but she was cutting Emily out of her life quite thoroughly. It begin simply with her not showing up when Em and the girls hung out and now at its height, Spencer was avoiding her phone calls, texts and emails. Emily figured things would eventually settle down between them; she and Spencer never really fought and couldn't really stay angry with one another. Hell, even if Spencer was mad through Christmas and into the New Year, to spend some time with Jru was really almost worth it.

"You are quiet today," Emily commented watching Jru's eyes open and shut several times. She had driven up directly after swim practice and after her own practice Jru had taken her to dinner. They were relaxing in her apartment, but Jru was fighting the sleep demon.

"I may be a tiny bit tired," Jru murmured pulling Emily closer to her on the couch. "I had my last final today and then practiced and ran all day. We have a tournament starting Monday and I'm out of shape."

"I can't tell," Emily promised her resting on her against her body. Jru opened her eyes and smiled.

"You don't see how slow I am. And my knee is still a bit sore. Anyways, after this tournament, I have the winter shows to get through and then I head back home until next semester."

Emily sat up and looked back at Jru. "Back home? I thought your family lived in Philadelphia."

"Kelly and my mother live in Philadelphia," Jru explained. "My father's family lives in Maryland and I always spend my winter break there. It makes my dad happy…we never spent a lot of time with his family as kids."

"Oh," Emily frowned. "So after next week, I won't see you anymore?"

Jru laughed, "For like two weeks, sweetheart. Calm down, I'm in no hurry to get away from you," she kissed Emily softly on the lips. She leaned back and stared at Emily. "What's that look?" she asked cautiously. Jru had seen this look from Emily a few times before, when they were holding hands, or when she talked about visiting her in Rosewood. "It's going to be okay, honey, I promise. I'll drive back a couple of times if that will make you feel better."

Emily stretched out along side Jru. "No, it's not that…" she mumbled. The weight of lying and sneaking around with Jru was taking its toll on Emily and she thought for a moment that it would be better to confess now, yet the tender look in Jru's eyes and how much she truly wanted to be with her, stopped her words. She leaned in to kiss Jru again, loving the feel of her soft lips. Jru was always patient and gentle, some of the attributes Emily loved about her. Emily knew she was flirting with disaster, but she didn't move back, moving lower to kiss Jru's neck.

"What are you doing," Jru asked stroking Emily's back. Emily didn't answer, just covered Jru's mouth again, exploring it thoroughly this time. She wanted to go further but she couldn't, knowing she belonged to Paige. "Wait, what's wrong?" Jru moaned when Emily pulled away.

"Nothing, I just don't think I'm ready for this…" Emily sighed fully sitting up. Jru rubbed her temple and closed her eyes again. Emily knew this look; this was the expression that Paige got every time she pulled back from her. Anger and attitude followed but Emily didn't think she could bare Jru being pissed with her.

"Okay sweetheart," Jru said after a moment. She pulled Emily back onto her chest and flipped on the television.

"How are you this calm?" Emily questioned resting her chin on Jru's chest.

Jru only smiled, settled on a movie and looked down at Emily, "Emily, I'm not going to get angry because you don't wanna do anything more than kiss me. I would never put that kind of pressure on you," she kissed her on the nose.

Emily smiled too and focused on the television for a while. It was a few seconds before Emily realized that Jru was going to hate her soon. She could do nothing but hate her when she found out about Paige. How was Emily going to explain why she kept a girlfriend from her? _I may be falling in love with you, was not going to be a great excuse_, Emily told herself. She looked up at Jru again, who had quietly fallen asleep.

"Jru," she almost whispered.

"Yeah, sweetheart," Jru answered absently, her hazel eyes still closed to the glow of the television and lamp light of the room.

"What if you hate me one day?" she asked almost child-like.

"No, but I'll probably love you one day," Jru said before drifting back off to sleep.

* * *

"So Em, we barely see you anymore," Hanna commented over coffee the next morning. "You spend every weekend God-knows-where and all during the week you are mostly with Paige. We are getting a major neglected feeling over here." Emily looked from Hanna to Aria and shrugged. Once again, Spencer had made up an excuse of why she couldn't come to Hanna's house while Emily was around but now Aria and Hanna were beginning to notice.

"Em, we're your best friends," Aria began, "what's going on with you?"

Emily rang her hands miserably. "Nothing," she started but then stopped. With everything she had been through with these girls, she couldn't lie to them. "I think I'm in love…"

"With Paige?" Hanna tried not to grimace but almost failed. "That's great Em," she recovered before Emily locked eyes with her.

"No, not with Paige," Emily said looking down at the counter. "With Spencer's friend, Jru."

"Jru?" Aria seemed stunned. "What… that doesn't make sense; you are dating Paige."

"I didn't mean for it to happen. She's just …so different…so not from Rosewood and she's sweet and special…"

"And has the best shoe collection ever!" Hanna exclaimed. "Way to move up, Em!"

"Hanna, this is not about shoes," Aria chided.

"What, I'm just saying…there is a way to move up and Em is definitely moving up…"

Emily covered her eyes and burst into tears. Aria was the first to move over to her. "I've lied to everyone, Spencer hates me, my mom thinks I'm swimming at the University, Paige just knows I'm pulling away from her and Jru…Jru is never going to want to see me again because I'm lying to her daily. I'm screwing up everything."

"You aren't screwing up anything," Aria assured Emily. "You just met someone you really like; there is nothing wrong with that."

"Hold on, what's going on with you and Spence?" Hanna questioned.

"She hates that I'm leading Jru on," Emily explained. "She doesn't want her friend to get hurt."

Aria hugged Emily tightly. "Hey everything will work out fine. Now, let's walk down to Spencer's and just talk this out." Emily wiped her tears and hopped off of the chair at the counter.

"Okay," she nodded. Maybe this would all be okay. Before all of the girl could get their coats on and out of the door, the doorbell rang. Hanna went around the corner and opened the door to Paige.

"Is Emily here…I was gonna check at Spencer's but…" Paige started before Hanna could say anything. Hanna moved to the side as Paige somewhat barged in.

"Yeah, we were just leaving," Hanna sighed.

"Oh," Paige punched her hands into her coat pocket.

"Hey, you can walk with us," Emily managed to wipe her eyes and smile. She took her girlfriend's hand and they all headed down the street to Spencer's house.

"Is Melissa in town?" Aria asked, walking pass the extra car in Spencer's driveway. Emily shrugged, noticing that it wasn't a Jaguar so she wasn't particularly interested in the car in the driveway. The girls walked around to the side of the house and knocked on the patio door before entering the house.

"Em, what are you doing here?" Spencer asked a bit startled by Emily's presence. She noticed Paige and Emily holding hands and took a deep breath in. "Hey guys, this is not a good time. You should go," she said firmly. "Like now…" she mouthed.

"So Jru…are you sure you don't want to be a lawyer. I mean, doctors are great but lawyers have a lot more freedom. And, with your mother's practice…" the girls could hear Spencer's mom coming around the corner.

"Yeah, my mom has given me this speech a million times. I just think being a doctor is more my speed and with the standards my mom and Kelly have set, it would be impossible for me to feel comfortable being a lawyer."

"Well, if you ever change your mind, you let me know first," Spencer mom's gushed, "I would love to give you your first internship. Tell your mother I said hello, okay?"

"Of course, Mrs. Hastings," Jru smiled.

Emily had dropped Paige's hand the second she had heard Jru's voice but didn't have the opportunity to put enough space between them. Her worse nightmare was coming true right then and she didn't know how she was going to handle it.

Jru walked around the corner with a large, sexy smile spread across her face and her caramel colored leather jacket, tee shirt and light stone washed jeans hanging loosely on her hips. She noticed Emily first, grinned as she moved towards her, but stopped at the closeness and possession that Paige's presences presented.

"Jru," Emily choked out in a harsh whisper. Paige had reclaimed her hand and Jru instantly noticed. Spencer's face had flushed an intense red as Jru looked from her back to Emily with a confusion that bordered on helplessness.

"Jru Favors, this is Hanna and Aria, remember I told you about them. And you know Emily and that's her girlfriend, Paige," Spencer's voice dropped a bit.

"Girlfriend…" Jru's expression dropped. Aria stepped up first to break the mood. "Wow, I love your shoes," Aria offered.

Jru looked down at her caramel colored zip up boots. "Thanks," she managed a grin. She ran an uncomfortable hand through her hair. "Are you guys staying for breakfast," she refused to look at Emily again as she went over and stood beside Spencer. Spencer eyed her friend gently stressing her apology with her eyes. Jru closed herself off to the gesture, but managed a soft banter with Hanna and Aria while Spencer poured coffee.

"So, you are a model, right?" Hanna came over and stood beside Jru.

"I never really thought of myself as a model, but yeah, I have modeled before."

"Do you get to keep the clothes from the shoes?" Hanna asked eagerly.

"If you know the designer," Jru informed her.

"Awesome…" Hanna stated in awe.

"Oh, I thought you were a swimmer…" Paige chimed in. Jru looked over at Emily and Paige who had stayed closer to the door.

"Yeah, my uncle coaches the swim team," Jru confirmed. Paige rethreaded her fingers with Emily, even though Emily tried to move away a bit.

"Okay…that must be how Emily knows you," Paige said working the situation out, out loud. "We all know how much Emily wants and deserve a swimming scholarship." Jru seemed stunned for a minute but didn't say anything while everyone else begin to talk again. It wasn't long before Hanna had engaged Jru in another conversation about fashion, but Jru couldn't help watching as Paige fawned over Emily, who tried gracefully to remain unaffected. Still, she couldn't help but watch as Jru chatted with Hanna and ignored the fact that she was even in the room. It hurt even though Emily knew it was her own fault.

The next hour was absolutely unbearable for Spencer, Jru and especially Emily. It wasn't until Spencer announced that she and Jru had plans that Emily got a bit of a reprieve. Heading back towards her home, Paige followed beside her, chatting as if nothing was wrong, while Emily's heart broke. "You are really quiet," Paige mentioned as they sat on Emily's porch. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Emily shook her head dismally. "I really don't feel well actually." Emily wasn't lying either. All she wanted to do is go to her bedroom and cry but she couldn't do that with Paige around.

"Oh…why don't you rest and I'll come back later this evening?" Paige asked caringly. She brushed back a few strands of hair from Emily's face and kissed her on the lips. "I'll see you later?"

"Of course," Emily agreed. She waited for Paige to disappear down the street before heading in the opposite direction and back to Spencer's. She stopped on the sidewalk and stared at Spencer's house. The extra car was gone from the driveway.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

One week later

Jru closed her eyes to the impeding light and groaned heavily. Her stomach was churning and her head pounded like there was a personal drummer inside her head. She pushed the covers from her body, which felt heavy and awkward and tried to sit up. "Oh God…" she moaned, returning to her former position. Jru was in no way a person who could hold her liquor by any measure, but since she found out Emily already had a girlfriend, she had been on a bender. Every since the basketball tournament ended on Tuesday evening, she had been drinking consistently. It started with a few end-of –the-semester parties with the girls from the basketball team and culminated last night at a stag party in downtown Philly with people Jru didn't know. It almost ended disastrously last night if Jru remembered correctly, but Jru couldn't be sure she remembered correctly.

"Do you have an extra toothbrush?" someone asked from the adjoining bathroom's doorway. Jru would know that voice anywhere and she cringed for a moment. She managed to sit up this time, but it took a moment for her eyes to focus.

Colby stood in the doorway, half shirt exposing her bare stomach and a pair of short black boy-shorts. "Jru…extra toothbrushes?"

"What would make you think I stock extra toothbrushes?" Jru asked groggily. She fell back towards her bed, her head bouncing up before settling on her pillow. "There should be some in the hall closet though, where the extra blankets and sheets are..."

"Was that so hard?" Colby asked before disappearing. Jru could hear the water run a short while afterward, but she buried her head underneath her pillow.

Jru felt the weight of Colby on her bed and opened her eyes. "What did we do last night?" she asked cautiously.

"Nothing," Colby smiled. "You got drunk last night …really drunk…and didn't want to crash your Jag…so you called me …"

Jru grimaced. "Sorry…I shouldn't have done that."

"Getting drunk?"

"God no, I needed to get drunk," Jru admitted. "I shouldn't have called you…messed up your Friday night…"

Colby laughed, "I was in my studio; it was really no problem."

There was a lingering silence as Jru tried to remember anything about last night. "I feel like hell…" she said after a while.

"I didn't even know you drank."

"I don't…I didn't … it's complicated," Jru admitted softly. Colby nodded her understanding and sighed. There was no denying that she still cared about Jru a lot, but there was really no use trying to convince Jru of that. "Everything on my body hurts."

"Is this your first night of drinking?" Colby rested her hand against Jru's forehead.

"No, that was day four …"

"What happened four days ago that made you want to drink, Jru?" Colby asked with concern.

Jru shook her head, "It doesn't matter now…"

* * *

Emily hugged the pillow closer to her and closed her eyes to the tears that were forming in her eyes. Paige thought she had the flu and that's why she was staying far away from her, but really Emily only wanted to cry and call Jru constantly. She had curbed her intense appetite to call Jru every five minutes but she hadn't been so successful with the crying. There was a soft knock on her door, which meant it wasn't her mother, so Emily sat up in her bed and waited for whomever to enter. There was another knock, and then Spencer poked her head into Emily's room.

"Your mom said I could come up at my own risk. She said you had the flu?" Spencer said awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other. "Do you really have the flu, because I can't catch the flu right now…" Emily shook her head no, and Spencer sighed in relief. She closed the door behind her and sat on the edge of Emily's bed. "I came to say I am sorry…"

"Sorry for what?" Emily's eyes were still red, she had cried less than an hour ago but really hadn't come to any conclusions with any of her problems. This could very well solve one of those problems.

"You and Jru's relationship is none of my business, and I made it my business and I made it complicated …I'm sorry."

"It's complicated because I have a girlfriend and I fell hard for someone who is amazing and special and now Jru hates me."

"Can I ask you a question?" Spencer asked. Emily shrugged but nodded. "Have you told Paige about Jru yet…I mean the truth."

"No…how can I? She loves me so much and we've been through so much together, I can't break her heart."

Spencer didn't want to understand this fact, but she did. "Someone is going to get her heart broken Em. Would you really prefer there be two people instead of just one?"

"What does that mean, Spencer?"

"It means I can see how much you love, Jru and if you are going to spare Paige's feelings at the expense of yours and Jru's…it is not fair."

"It's not that simple, Spencer." Emily reasoned. But Emily knew it was that easy. She only needed to make it that easy to Paige. "It doesn't matter, that look that Jru gave me …she's never going to talk to me again. She won't answer my calls; won't answer my texts."

"I'm not going to tell you to give her time. She's stubborn and hurt and the more time you give her, the more she is going to assume she is right about the situation."

"What can I do about that, Spencer?" Emily questioned with tears now flowing. "I don't want to lose her and I don't want to hurt Paige…"

Spencer wrapped Emily in a tight hug. "Just do whatever you think is right…"

* * *

There is perhaps no worse feeling than being hung over yet hungry at the same time. Jru's stomach growled loudly as she rolled over on her couch. The intense thumping of her head had not ceased for even a moment and although she had popped three aspirin in her mouth before she fell asleep, nothing seemed to tame her misery. She couldn't be sure if it was because her heart hurt emotional, or because she was positive a thin layer of vodka had literally coated the organ; either way she assumed death would be a better feeling than a hangover mixed with a deep depression.

"Here, drink this," Colby suggested, sitting at the end of the couch near Jru's legs.

"What is it?" Jru grimaced at the sight of purple substance in one of her glasses.

"PowerAde or Gatorade… some sports drink you had in the fridge," Colby explained.

"I'm not thirsty," Jru frowned.

"You are dehydrated and it's only making your hangover a lot worse. Drink it," Colby urged. Jru drained the liquid and plopped back on the couch in subtle agony.

"When did you become an expert on hangovers?" Jru smiled feeling a bit better. Colby got up and refilled her glass.

"I did a bit of drinking in my younger days…was never a vodka girl though…more tequila than anything I think. But I did learn not to get dehydrated," Colby smiled pulling at her dark brown hair. Jru couldn't help but smile also. She and Colby's friendship was easy and natural, yet their relationship had been anything but. Colby wanted to be seen at all times and dating the youngest daughter of a Congresswoman definitely didn't hurt this motivation.

"What exactly are your younger days, Saint?" Jru laughed calling her by her last name like she did when they used to date. "You are only four or five years older than me."

"That's practically a lifetime," Colby stuck her tongue out at Jru. She was quiet while Jru drank the second glass of sports drink. "So can I ask you a question?"

Jru rubbed her empty stomach. She hadn't eaten in what seemed like ages. "Go for it."

"What was so complicated that you started drinking?"

"I thought I was in love," Jru whispered, "but it was just a farce and the girl was using me to get close to my uncle."

"I'm not following…"

"She's a swimmer…" Jru explained.

"And your uncle is the swim coach…" it clicked for Colby. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart…but maybe you just got your wires crossed."

"Well her girlfriend seems to think that she was seeing me for swimming purposes only," Jru sat up and fought the little white specks that were clouding her eyes. "I'm hot and my head hurts and I'm starving."

Colby nodded. "Okay…why don't you take a nice cool shower and I will make you a light breakfast."

Jru examined her slowly. "You know you don't have to ruin your Saturday morning by playing nurse-maiden to me," Jru said bashfully. "I don't wanna ruin your weekend; I already killed your Friday night."

"Go take a shower…your breakfast will be ready when you get out," Colby coaxed.

Jru dragged herself from the couch and into her bathroom. The cool water seemed to help evaporate some of the alcohol from Jru's body and by the time she exited the shower, she could smell pancakes in the kitchen. Jru oiled her body and sprayed on some citrus perfume and pulled her hair into a ponytail as she made her way back to kitchen.

"Your fridge is surprisingly stocked for a kid," Colby commented stacking up three perfect pancakes. She had sliced up a banana and strawberries along with heated syrup and a tall glass of milk.

"I forgot how great you are at fixing breakfast," Jru smiled. "Thank you…"

"No problem," Colby blushed at the comment. She leaned against the counter and watched as Jru begin digging into breakfast. It wasn't long before she heard the doorbell rang. "Are you expecting company?"

"I haven't been answering my mother or sister's calls, so it is probably one of them," Jru shrugged standing up.

"No, finish your breakfast. Is it okay if I get it?"

"Sure, thanks," Jru smiled returning her attention to her plate. After a minute, Jru shouted, "Who is it, Colby?"

"It's not Kelly or your mom…" Colby's voice trailed off.

Jru peered around the corner and stopped in her tracks a bit stunned. "Emily…" was all she managed before the girl turned and headed back down the hallway.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Where are you going?" she asked carefully, watching Emily take the stair two at a time. They were now standing nearly one hundred yards apart for the first time in a week; Emily on the sidewalk and Jru standing on the top step of her building, shivering from the lack of materials on her body. Emily spun around, giving herself just enough time to catch her breath. She wanted to say something, but no words came; just a mixture of hot embarrassment and tears that she was afraid was going to spill down her cheeks. "Come back inside," Jru said smoothly, evenly as she rubbed her bare forearms.

"Why? You already have SOMEONE in your apartment," Emily countered defiantly. Jru studied her for a moment, squinting her bright hazel eyes against the afternoon sun and sighed.

"Come back inside," she said again; this time a bit more forcefully.

"Who is she?" Emily asked blankly, even though she knew very well who the girl was. Colby Saint; she could never forget that face, or the way she looked at Jru in sheer horror when she opened the door and saw Emily.

Jru shivered again and blew in her hand to keep somewhat warm. "Colby," she answered innocently. "Are you coming in or not?" she turned as if she was going in by herself but, Emily followed.

"What is she doing here?" Emily asked before she caught herself. She was acting like a jealous girlfriend, but she had no stake to Jru. Jru could go out with whomever she wanted and this twisted at Emily's heart.

Jru studied Emily carefully as she closed the door to her apartment behind them. Colby had disappeared. "Does it matter?" Jru asked. "Does it really matter why Colby is here?" She wrapped herself in a blanket and starred at Emily with innocent concentration. At her name, Colby reappear as if she was a genie from a bottle. She had covered her black boy-shorts with a pair of dark-washed ripped jeans and her half shirt with a button-up blue long-sleeve shirt. She was much prettier in person than on the internet, Emily decided, taking slow inventory of the competition. She was shorter than Emily but the beauty aspect was running equal.

"I'm going to go," Colby announced slowly, watching the way Jru looked at Emily. She wanted Jru to ask her to stay, but from the way Jru's eyes were trained on Emily, she knew that her hope would never come true.

"Thank you for everything," Jru said to Colby, finally turning her eyes away from the girl standing near the door.

"Of course, sweetheart," Colby came over and placed a gentle kiss on Jru's forehead, "anytime you need anything, just call me." She passed Emily, surveying the competition again as she left the apartment.

Jru covered her head with the blanket, trying to stave off the unbearable headache that was now reigning down on her. The pancakes had soaked up the alcohol efficiently but it did nothing for the headache and the approaching conversation with the girl she wasn't sure whether to love or hate right now. "You can sit," she offered. Emily came into the living room a bit more and settled on the edge of a couch.

Emily watched as Jru closed her eyes to the light. She had no idea what to say. She had so many things to say on the drive over, but seeing Colby in Jru's apartment and the obvious affection Colby still had for her, obviously hurt Emily. But she couldn't be hurt…she was the one that had hurt Jru.

"I'm sorry," Emily finally decided on. It was all she could come up with when all the other words seemed insufficient. Jru opened her eyes, her hazel eyes sparkling with unshed tears. She swallowed slowly.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend?" she asked innocently. She sat up and pulled her knees in close to her chest.

"I liked you too much," Emily had to answer honestly. "I met you and I liked you too much and eventually it was just too late."

"Too busy using me for my uncle connection?" Jru countered sardonically. "He's going to some of your swim meets in the winter. I just thought you should be prepared. You and your girlfriend…free Ivy League education…"

"You know that you and I had, had nothing to do with swimming," Emily cut her off.

"I didn't even know you had a girlfriend!" A silence engulfed the room. "I'm sorry," Jru said weakly. "I just liked you so much…and it was all a lie," she brushed away a tear quickly trying to look strong.

"It wasn't all a lie," Emily promised moving closer to Jru. "I have a girlfriend, but it's not as clear cut as it seems, Jru." And then Emily went about the difficult task of explaining her past; her love of Maya, the lost of Maya and the complications of her relationship with Paige. She admitted that she felt something for Paige, but it didn't compare to what she felt for Jru. But at the same time, she couldn't abandon Paige either. She had before and it was horrible. She couldn't be horrible to Paige again.

Jru took a fortifying breath. "Where does this leave us?" Jru asked gently.

"With you hating me…" Emily said completely deflated. She had curled up against the couch, trying to protect her heart from the rejection that was going to come.

"I don't hate you, Emily," Jru said threading her fingers with Emily's. "But you don't want to hurt her and I won't be your other girl…so the ball is in your court. But you have to choose, sweetheart," she said kissing her fingers one by one. "What do you want to do?"

Emily hadn't actually thought of what she wanted. She knew that she didn't want Jru to hate her but that was as far as she had gotten by the time she knocked on Jru's door that afternoon. And then she saw Colby and … "What is going on with you and Colby?" she asked a bit more insecurely than she wanted to sound.

"I've been in pieces since last week. I spent the weekend with my sister, Kelly, who can keep me busy enough to stop thinking about anything and then I had the tournament for two days but by Wednesday there was this void that talking to you or seeing you had left. So, I began drinking…every night, and it hurt a little less with the alcohol. Last night, I drank so much that I couldn't make it home, so I called Kelly and she was in Delaware with mom, so I called Colby. She just brought me home and rehydrated me so my hangover didn't kill me. There is nothing going on between us."

"She looks at you as if she still wants you," Emily mumbled holding on tighter to Jru's hand.

"We are friends…the way I feel about her doesn't even compare…" Jru let her words trail off. She pulled her hand back slowly. "I can't do this, Emily. It hurts…I can't want you this much knowing that you have a girlfriend who loves you and is clueless to what we have. She thinks I'm your swim partner or something."

"What do you want me to say," Emily sank deeper into the cushion of the sofa.

Jru leaned over and brushed a strand of hand out of Emily's face. Then she cupped her face and kissed her thoroughly. "I want you to choose, baby…"

Emily took a deep breath trying to push down her fears. "What if I can't?"

Jru was silent for a moment and then had the strength to say, "We can end it now; before it goes any further. You can pretend as if we never met and you can go be with Paige. It'll be easier that way. You never have to see me or talk to me again," a tear slipped from Jru's hazels eyes.

"And you could do that? Walk away from me like I never existed?"

"Honey, if it makes it easier on you," Jru promised leaning back. "I'll do whatever you want."

Emily leaned against Jru feeling a bit calmer. "Can you just give me some time, please?"

Before Jru had the opportunity to answer, a key turned in the door. Jru backed up, knowing it could only be one of two people; her mother or sister. She glanced over her shoulder to see her sister, Kelly open her front door.

"Jru…" Kelly began to yell before realizing that her sister was sitting on the couch. "Oh…hey," she smiled awkwardly noticing Emily for the first time. "I didn't know you had company."

"This is Emily," Jru introduced her as if Kelly should already know some back story on the girl. Kelly nodded her understanding and offered a warm smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Emily," she said coolly fiddling with her keys.

"What are you doing back?" Jru asked. "I thought you were in Delaware with mom…"

Kelly didn't remove her eyes from Emily, "Plans change…and I heard you weren't feeling well…so I came back."

"Thank you," Jru said sincerely. Kelly didn't have to say that she was worried because it showed all over her soft features. Kelly settled in a nearby chair and crossed her long legs. Jru had never mentioned the fact, but there was no way their father were the same person. Kelly was a red-head with light-skin and pale green eyes. Still, they looked just enough alike for people to know that they were related.

"So, I assumed Colby was going to be here. She called me this morning and …" Kelly saw her sister toss her a dirty look. Still, she wasn't deterred. "And said you were hangover… what exactly could make YOU get drunk?" She didn't wait for her sister to answer. "Must have been SOME girl…" she rolled her eyes.

"Did you come back because you were concerned or to criticize?"

"I can do both," Kelly assured her little sister. Kelly's cell phone buzzed. She looked down, "Excuse me, I have to take this…" she stood up and headed into the bedroom.

"I think I should go," Emily whispered. "I don't think Kelly likes me much."

Jru shook her head, "Kelly doesn't like anyone…"

"She seems to like Colby just fine," Emily mumbled. Jru recoiled and moved a bit further away from Emily.

"Are we really going to have a conversation about Colby? The girl you knew about from the beginning…or should we talk about Paige, who I was humiliated to find out about? I had to meet her in my friend's kitchen with your friends watching."

"Oh, am I interrupting something?" Kelly asked staying by the bedroom door.

Emily's eyes shot to her. "No," she said standing up. "I was just leaving." She looked back to Jru mournfully, "Can I call you later?"

Jru rubbed her temple, more frustrated by her sister's presence than by Emily's question. She looked back at her sister. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

Kelly seemed amused. "No…I don't have anywhere to be."

"Fine…I'll walk you out Emily," Jru offered.

"No, I'll be fine," Emily stopped Jru. "I'll call you later okay?"

"Okay," Jru said sitting back down on the couch. She wrapped herself in her blanket again as Emily closed the door behind her.

Kelly stared at her sister with a mixture of concern and pity running through her body. It wasn't hard to see that Jru was in love with this girl and Jru never did great with relationships. Jru was too easygoing and she tended to let people get over on her. This was one of the reasons she and Kelly fought so much. Kelly didn't have any of those qualities and it was her personal mission to kill those traits in her sister, even though she had been failing to do so for nineteen years.

"What's the story with you and her?" Kelly asked.

Jru really didn't want to share the story of her and Emily with Kelly but she knew very well that Kelly would eventually find out. "I don't know, we used to have something or at least I thought we did. And then a week ago, I found out she had a girlfriend."

"And now?" Kelly listened calmly, sitting back in the chair and crossing her legs again.

"I don't know. I don't know what happens now, because I still feel the same about her. I wanted to not feel the same about her after I found out, but I feel the same. Does that make me pathetic?"

Kelly rested her fingers between her nose and upper lip like their mother often did when she was in thought. "I don't know what you want me to say, Jru. No, I don't think you are pathetic."

"There is always a 'but' with that."

"No buts," Kelly said solemnly. There was a quiet lull in the room.

"I asked her to choose…told her that she had to choose between her girlfriend and me. It should be an easy decision. She should choose me and it should all be over, right? Happy ending and all."

"Are you afraid that it's not gonna be like that?

"Is it ever like that?" Jru asked becoming sadder the more she thought about it.

Kelly looked at her little sister and smiled brightly. "Yeah," she said confidently. "It is sometimes."

* * *

Jru was beginning to hate the times at night when her apartment was completely quiet besides the music she had created for the winter shows and the tap of her fingertips on her keyboard. She was playing along with the recording, trying to feel anything from the music, but there was a stark absence of feeling from her playing. Her mind kept travelling back to Emily and the fact that nothing was really solved between the two of them. Emily still had a girlfriend and even though Jru hadn't drank that day to push that realization out of her mind, she now wished she had.

Jru left the corner of her bedroom where her keyboard was set up and lay down on her bed. Her sister had actually helped her earlier; convincing her that there was a possibility that Emily would choose her. Yet, deep down inside, Jru had a hard time believing that Emily would have the fortitude to leave someone she had such a deep past with. Jru closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep. It was nearly eleven, but her body or mind wouldn't wind down for the night. She picked up her phone and dialed Emily's number. The phone rang a few times, but eventually went to voicemail. She hadn't called Jru like she said she would.

"Dammit," Jru frowned. She lay there for a second and then picked up her phone again. This time she dialed a different number. Colby picked up after two rings.

"Hey Jru," Colby answered brightly. "There's nothing wrong is there?"

"No," Jru assured her. "I was just calling to apologize for earlier today. I was rude and after you helped me so much last night…"

"Don't even mention it," Colby stopped her. "I'm glad you called me instead of trying to do something crazy like drive. It was the responsible thing to do."

"Well, I wasn't just apologizing for that," Jru admitted. "When Emily came by, I kinda blew you off and that's wasn't right."

"She's the one you are in love with…I couldn't expect much less," Colby tried to conceal her disdain for the words. "Anyways, what are you doing awake? Don't you live by strict athlete rules like sleep by eight, up by four in the morning for running and shooting baskets…" she teased.

"I don't think anyone could live by that structure," Jru laughed for the first time in what felt like forever. It felt good not to be inebriated or just upset about something she couldn't control. Hell, it felt good just to laugh. "I can't sleep; just way too much on my mind."

"You wanna take a load off your mind?" Colby asked playfully.

"I am actually open for suggestions as long as it doesn't involve alcohol."

"How about you come over and let me sketch you…"

"No, that doesn't sound 'Silence of the Lamb' like at all," Jru said sarcastically.

"I don't think you've seen Silence of the Lamb at all have you?" Colby laughed. "Just come over… I have that movie and you can figure out all the ways that reference is completely wrong."

Jru realized that she wasn't getting any closer to sleep and Colby literally lived about five minutes away from her. What would the harm be in watching a movie with a friend? "Okay, give me ten minutes…"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Emily had seen her phone screen light up when Jru called but she was too wrapped up with Paige to answer it. Now that it was forty minutes later, Jru wasn't answering her phone. "Come on Jru," Emily moaned. She had already had a terrible night and although she had planned to call Jru much earlier, Paige had stolen her attention. Paige was back early from a trip with my parents and desperately needed to spend some time with her girlfriend.

"Sweetheart," Paige had said sweetly, "Please, let's go out tonight; spend the entire evening together and just reconnect. You have been so distant lately." So they had attempted to have a nice evening. They had gone to the Grill for an early dinner, followed by going back to Paige's to watch a couple of movies. Emily tried to be as upbeat as possible, but she found herself staring at her phone, wanting to call and talk to Jru.

"You aren't having fun at all," Paige frowned halfway into the movie. She paused it and turned to Emily. "Is there something else you want to watch?"

"No," Emily shook her head absently. "This is fine." She shifted in Paige's arm and tried to focus on the movie.

"Emily, if something is wrong, you can tell me," Paige whispered in her ear. She kissed the side of her girlfriend's neck. "I mean, is it something with the girls? Spencer? You haven't been talking to Spencer much lately. You two seem to have been avoiding each other lately. Does she still hate me? I can talk to her."

"No, Spencer was angry with me," Emily confessed honestly. "We are better now, though. And no, it didn't have anything to do with you."

"Okay," Paige sighed. "But there is something…"

"No, I guess I'm just a little overwhelmed with school and the holidays coming up," Emily had to lie again.

"So it'll all be better after the holidays?" Paige said hopefully.

"Yeah," Emily promised. Now she was sitting on her bed, trying Jru's number again. Why couldn't she just have told Paige the truth? They could still be friends, Emily told herself. They could still swim together and hang out at school… she would just be with Jru officially. It could honestly be that easy. _Hey it's Jru, leave it at the beep._

Emily hung up again and lay back on her bed. "Where is she?" And then Emily considered the worse thought that she could imagine. Jru's sister could have talked her into giving up on the concept of them and actually go out with someone else; someone like Colby, who had seemed all too comfortable in her boy-shorts and torn tee shirt earlier that morning. A shiver crawled up Emily's back and she fought back angry tears. She took a deep breath to calm herself right as her phone buzzed. She looked at it enthusiastically, praying that it was Jru, but was disappointed when Hanna's name popped up on the screen.

"Hey Hanna," Emily tried to sound calm. "What's up?"

"I'm super bored; Caleb is out of town and my mom is still out on her date … can you come over please?"

"Why didn't you call Aria or Spencer?" Emily sighed.

"Please Em…Aria isn't answering and Spencer is with Toby. Can I at least come over there?"

"I'll come over," Emily finally agreed. "Give me a couple of minutes…" Emily put her clothes back on and snuck out of the house quietly, making her way down the street to Hanna's house.

"I can't believe I came outside at midnight to keep you company," Emily rolled her eyes when Hanna opened the door.

"It's because you are the best!" Hanna leaped with glee. "I was so bored, I tried to watch a movie and it was just boring."

"Well, I'm glad I could be of some help to you," Emily said sarcastically.

"Ugh, aren't you angry today. What's the matter with you?"

"I don't know…Jru just isn't answering her phone and it's driving me crazy. I keep thinking she's probably out with Colby or someone else as attractive."

"Why do you care? You are with Paige," Hanna reminded her. "And after that little scene at Spencer's the other week…I'm pretty sure she's thoroughly pissed with you."

"I thought she would be too," Emily said absently. "But she wasn't…"

"Emily," Hanna said with her eyes wide, "you've talked to Jru? Juicy…what happened?" Emily wasn't exactly surprised at the pleasure Hanna was getting from this information. Hanna loved gossip more than any of her friends, and messy relationships were sort of her specialty.

Emily shrugged, "Nothing really. I drove up to see her today and unfortunately Colby Saint was there…"

"You met Colby Saint!" Hanna asked in awe. "Why doesn't this kind of thing ever happen to me? So what is she like? Do you think she will give me an internship?"

"I didn't really have a conversation with her…she was in her underwear opening Jru's front door," Emily bit out bitterly.

"What! Wow! So you drove Jru back to her hot designer ex-girlfriend?" Hanna said with deep amusement.

"No! It wasn't like that… I drove Jru to drink and Colby just drove her home last night." Emily realized it didn't sound much better. "Anyways, she forgave me but she wants me to choose between her and Paige."

"Well, that sounds like a very difficult decision," Hanna paused for comedic measure. "Choose Jru and get me an internship with Colby Saint!"

"It's not that simple, Hanna."

"I can't understand why, Emily. A week ago, you told Aria and me that you thought you loved Jru. Just be with her."

"And what about Paige? I see her everyday…we practice together, we are friends, and I can't hurt her like that."

"Okay, then why do you care who Jru is with? You spent most of your day with Paige right?"

Emily was beginning to hate the fact that Hanna was making sense. She didn't need a rational friend right now; she needed someone to sympathize with her. "Whose side are you on Hanna?"

"I'm on your side, Em; but you have to admit it's a terrible situation for Jru. She met your girlfriend in front of all us, and now you kinda want to spare Paige's feelings but have her wait on you. How is it fair?"

Emily had no answer.

* * *

"I'm not sure why I thought Silence of the Lamb was about drawing," Jru laughed cutting off the movie. "I don't think I'm ever going to sleep normally again…"

"You're not much for scary movies are you?" Colby asked trying to hold back a laugh. She changed color pencils and looked back at her sketchpad. "What do you think of this dress?"

"You would never wear anything that long," Jru reminded her. Colby was cute and petite and never really wanted to wear anything that was longer than knee-length.

"This is not for me; it's for a wedding I'm designing for."

"Ooh, exciting," Jru gushed.

"You hate weddings," Colby laughed.

"That's not true," Jru shook her head. "I hate being involved in weddings and I'm almost positive that when Kelly gets married, she's going to make me participate."

"Of course! She's your sister…you'll probably be maid-of-honor."

"Ah…I can pray not," Jru shook her head furiously. "Why can't I just play the piano or the cello and eat cake?"

Colby couldn't help but grin. "I don't think so. Plus, you will look great in a bridesmaid dress."

"Ugh, you think a lot about weddings."

"I'm a fashion designer; it's a lot of my business."

"Of course…business first…" Jru sounded a lot more bitter than she wanted to. The smile ran from Colby's face with that comment.

"May I ask you a question Jru?" Colby asked removing her attention from the color pencils and sketch paid. "Is that really why we broke up? Because you seriously thought I only wanted to be with you for publicity?"

"Colby all we ever did was go to events and charity balls and anything for publicity. We hardly ever talked or just a saw a movie; and then you got me walk in a few of your shows and your line skyrocketed."

Colby had never really thought about it. "You could have told me that. It's just when I graduated, I started immediately working on my line and I wasn't great at time management. I knew we could see each other, because you went to a lot of events with your parents … I didn't realize you thought that I was using you. And yes, my line did skyrocket after you walked in those shows, but if I knew you were going to break up with me after I asked you to walk in them, I would have never asked you to, Jru. I really just wanted to be with you," she said humbly. Jru didn't say anything, but Colby took a deep breath and continued. "But you are in love now…so…I guess the past is the past."

"Yeah," Jru managed.

"So you must have forgiven her…" Colby concluded. "You were never much on holding grudges. You were always too sweet for that."

"What would have been the purpose of holding a grudge? I still want her" Jru admitted slowly. She didn't want to hurt Colby's feelings, but it was the truth. She felt something for Emily that she just hadn't felt while they were dating. It did very little good to lie; and to not admit that, would be a lie. "Listen Colby I don't want to hurt your feelings but Emily holds a piece of my heart and if I can't be with her, I'm not gonna want to be with anyone for a long time."

"Well at least you are being honest," Colby said in a defeated tone. She tried to shake off the feeling that she still wanted Jru. "Why don't we watch another movie…it's only about one in the morning."

"You stay up all night, don't you?" Jru laughed, feeling a bit of break in the tension.

Colby picked up her sketchpad again. "Some of my best work is done at night," she stuck her tongue out.

Jru couldn't help but blush at some of the memories this brought up. Although she knew she didn't love Colby, there were some things that she definitely missed. "See, that's unfair, making comments like that." Colby only laughed. "Actually, I'm getting sleepy…I should probably drive back home."

"Just stay…when the sleepiness gets too much, you can sleep in my bed. I don't mind, I tend to fall asleep on the couch anyway."

Jru really didn't want to go because as soon as she walked in the door, she knew her attention would go directly back to Emily and she still wouldn't be able to sleep. "Okay but this time let's watch a comedy; or at least something where someone isn't being held in a well."

"Deal…" Colby agreed. They settled on a classic comedy and watched for a while. "So do you still write music?" Colby questioned.

"I wrote a good portion of the music for the winter theater shows this season," Jru beamed proudly. "I'm really excited about it…"

"Awesome," Colby smiled. "You are really great at playing music. Would it be okay if I came to one of the shows?"

"Yeah…my family is probably not gonna make it, so it'll be nice not to have to watch the shows alone…" her words trailed off. "Hey, I think I should go home…I just remembered something super important that I should do."

"Okay, text me when you get home so I know you made it okay?"

"Sure," Jru nodded pulling on a pullover. "And for the shows, I'll get you tickets and bring them over, okay?"

"Thanks Jru," Colby walked her to the door. She couldn't imagine what Jru would have to accomplish at nearly two in the morning, but she knew better than to try to stop her when she got that look.

* * *

Emily rubbed her eyes in slow torment. She hadn't made it home until well after three in the morning and after only about five hours of sleep, her mother was tapping lightly on the door.

"Emily, you have a delivery downstairs," her mother yelled a bit.

"Huh?" Emily moaned. "Mom, just give me a couple more hours…"

Her mom opened the door. "Why are you so sleepy?" she asked. "What time did you get in last night?"

Emily fought the urge to scream and instead sat up. Not even on Saturday mornings were she allowed to get much peace. "Mom, give me a break," she pleaded.

"It's almost nine," her mom said as if it was late. "And Aria is downstairs waiting for you."

"Oh geez," Emily remembered the fact that she had promised Aria that she would go to an art festival with her this morning. She fought the covers back and sat up stiffly. "Okay, I'll be down in less than twenty minutes," she promised. Thirty-five minutes later, Emily found Aria in her kitchen looking at large red orchid in a ceramic planter.

"Wow," Emily mouthed.

"Paige has beautiful taste," her mom commented as she passed Emily and headed to the laundry room.

When Aria was sure Emily's mother was out of earshot she whispered, "Not from Paige is it?"

Emily pulled the letter from beside the ceramic planter.

_Dear Emily_

_ I had every intention of buying roses, but it would seem so very pedestrian to give a girl like you roses, so I chose the Phalaenopsis orchid because every time I see one, I think of you. I can't just say that I am in love with you; quite frankly it would be unfair to the way I feel. I can understand that we are in an impossible situation right now but there is no reason to elongate our misery. So I have a proposed solution. In four days, at seven o'clock, the winter shows open and I will be sitting in the same place we did in the theater the first night we met. If you choose me, come to the show and share in one of the proudest moments in my life. There will be a ticket at the box office and an empty seat beside me. If by the time the show is over, you are not there, I will realize that you have chosen to stay with Paige and although my heart may crumble, I will understand. I will walk away and allow you to erase me from your memory and hopefully your heart too and I will try to do the same; even though I fear it may be impossible. Either way, the choice is yours, Emily, and I will respect any decision you make. _

_ I will love you always…_

_ Jru _

_ P.S. – If you do choose Paige, then never tell her what we were. The only feelings that can be more miserable than losing you, is the idea that you were almost lost. There is no reason for everyone's heart to hurt…_

"What does it say?" Aria asked gently.

Emily leaned against her counter and handed over the letter to her best friend. "I have four days…"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"I can't believe we are even having this conversation! Are we really trying to help you choose between Paige…and Jru?" Hanna asked in utter disbelief. It was unfathomable to Hanna that Emily was even shrugging with this decision. Jru could literally be a fashion icon if she wanted to be. She had model good looks, fashion-sense, her family was well known and above all, she had enough money to purchase all the clothes she wanted. "Pick Jru; then ask her to get me an internship with her hot ex-girlfriend."

"Hanna!" Aria exclaimed. Why was muzzling Hanna not an option, Aria had pondered a million times.

"We all know her wardrobe is likely out of control!" Hanna continued.

"Who do you want to be with Emily?" Aria asked sincerely.

Emily took a deep breath and bit down on her lower lip. "I spent the night with Paige last night…"

"Breaking up with her…right?" Hanna finished the sentence for Emily. Emily looked down and shook her head and Hanna rolled her eyes. "Really, Emily…that's great." All of Hanna's dreams were dashed with eight words.

"I went over there to break up with her, but I love Paige. I think maybe, it's just that Jru is phase and I can get over a phase," Emily's voice was shaker than she'd like it to be. Dammit, if only Jru hadn't made her choose… "Yes, I love Paige," she confirmed for herself more than Aria or Hanna.

"So you had to have sex with Paige to confirm that in your mind?" Hanna asked sarcastically.

"I said I slept over at Paige's, not had sex with her Hanna!" Emily sighed in frustration.

Aria's eyes widened. "Okay, so you've made your decision. But I don't think you can actually wait to tell Jru tonight. It will break her heart if you seriously don't show up. Forget what that letter said…"

"Isn't that kind of the point," Hanna asked. "Emily gets to break someone's heart without her actually seeing that she is breaking someone's heart."

"Hanna!" Aria and Emily shout in unison. If nothing else, Hanna's comment proved Aria was right; there was no way she could just not respond to Jru.

* * *

This day had come far too quickly and now a shiver of terror crept through Jru's body. She was sitting near her windowsill, watching the sky turn from gray to blue, and then back to gray again. It was Tuesday morning and the show would be opening tonight. She wished she could go back to Saturday now, before she had sent that orchid to Emily. Now, the thought of Emily choosing was actually tremendously frightening. Had she miscalculated how much Emily liked her? She had only herself to blame, Emily had decided. That was after she had only heard twice from Emily in those three long days. Quick, simple messages that answered no real questions and gave Jru no insight into what she was actually thinking.

Jru stood and stretched slowly. She hadn't properly run in three days or eaten well for that matter. She was lovesick. "Dammit," she moved to the couch and plopped down. It was actually a thing…lovesickness. She didn't feel like doing anything except waiting for this day to come and now that it was finally here, it was the most frightening day of her life. Jru picked up her phone that was lying on the coffee table and searched it for her last texting conversation with Emily. It was pathetically brief and unfulfilling. Jru tossed the phone back on the table and turned into the couch. She wanted to scream but swallowed that feeling and instead focused on not crying.

Thirty minutes later, she was in the same position just concentrating on breathing when her doorbell rang. She contemplated not answering the door; it was most likely just Colby. She was coming over to pick up a dress she had agreed to hem for Jru. The doorbell rang again and after deciding that it would be rude not to answer, Jru got up and walked to the door. Peeking through the peephole, Jru stepped back and opened the door.

"Hastings," she sighed leaning against the door. She smiled almost fragilely. They hadn't spoke since she had found out about Paige in the middle of Spencer's kitchen.

"I've called...I've tried to call," Spencer corrected herself. "I'm sorry," she finally decided on. She waited for Jru to say something; to say anything because she really couldn't stand it if she lost her friend. As Emily had noticed, Jru was everything that Rosewood was not and Spencer couldn't bear let her go as a friend.

"You should have at least brought breakfast," Jru said pulling Spencer inside and hugging her tightly. Spencer relaxed, letting out the deep breath she had been holding in since she stopped speaking.

"I'm so sorry, Jru," Spencer said after they settled on opposite sides of the couch.

"It wasn't your secret to tell," Jru bailed her friend out. She wanted to be angry with Spencer for some time but she knew Spencer's reasoning. It was Emily's secret to tell and if she wasn't still angry with Emily, how could she be angry with Spencer?

"Yeah, but anything that causes you pain or embarrassment…"

"It comes with life right?" Jru said softly.

Spencer nodded, but couldn't help but asking, "Why did you give her the ultimatum?"

"You mean the beautiful orchid I sent to her?" Jru corrected her with a weak laugh. "We both know that flower is too beautiful to be an ultimatum."

"That doesn't answer the question…" Jru shifted, wishing now was the time that Colby would come and rescue her from having to answer that question. But there was no doorbell and no knock at the door, so she turned and looked at Spencer. "If you love her, you will give her time."

"No, if I didn't love her I would give her time. Spencer, you know when you love someone you can't be second fiddle to anyone."

"What if you lose, what if she chooses Paige?" Spencer asked harshly. She sighed when she saw the look on Jru's face. The sadness that crossed her hazel eyes almost broke Spencer's heart.

"What do you know that I don't know, Spencer?" Jru questioned gently. That ball in the pit of her stomach was increasingly clinching down on her. Jru knew she was spoiled. If there was anything she wanted, it was provided for her; so the fear that she may not be with Emily was suddenly crushing.

Spencer looked down and shook her head, "Nothing…but I'm afraid…"

"Why?" Jru asked Spencer now a bit more pointedly.

"Because you are gorgeous, funny, generous, rich and everyone who is paying attention can see that you and Emily are really in love. If that's not enough…what hope do the rest of us have for love?" Spencer asked sadly.

"Hey," Jru pulled Spencer a bit closer. "I don't understand love at all. It's kinda reminding me of really bad heartburn. But I know when I make it to that auditorium tonight and she sits down beside me; it'll all be worth it."

Spencer wiped an escaped tear. "Are you always this optimistic?" Spencer managed to smile.

"I'm a lot more optimistic with breakfast. You want eggs?" Jru asked standing up.

"Is eggs the only thing you can make?"

"Hell yeah!" Jru opened her fridge and pulled out some eggs. "So am I to believe that you just came here out of thin air today? What's going on?" Jru whipped the eggs and added some salt in a bowl.

"I just feel off; like I'm missing something," Spencer admitted.

"Is Toby out of town again?" Jru asked innocently. She added the eggs to the stove and went back in her fridge and pulled out some cut up fruit.

"Yeah, he's out of town a lot," Spencer said wide-eyed. "I just don't know, Jru…I think…" but her words were stopped by the ring of the doorbell.

"It's Colby…can you get that?" Spencer stood up, somewhat happy at the interruption. She didn't want to think what she had been thinking for some time. She opened the front door. "Hey Jru, it's not Colby, it's Kelly."

Jru leaned away from the stove and looked into the living room. "What are you doing here Kelly? You want eggs?"

"Do you even know how to make eggs?" Kelly smiled following Spencer inside.

"I do feed myself daily you know," Jru replied.

"Yeah, you are like a hundred pounds, so I don't trust that fact at all," Kelly countered. Jru pulled the pan off of the stove.

"Is there a reason you are here?" she asked her sister.

"Yes, I need a favor," Kelly began. "I kinda ordered a custom BMW motorcycle for someone and it is ready today."

"Oh you ordered me a BMW motorcycle?" Jru asked excitedly. She had been asking for a motorcycle every since her father taught her how to ride one when she was fifteen.

"Hell no," Kelly rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I have to go to Pittsburg tonight to take a deposition and tomorrow I fly out to Paris for Christmas."

"I thought you didn't leave until Thursday…" Jru interrupted.

"I decided to just fly out with my father. Do you think you can pick the bike up and take it to Mom's house? It'll be ready at six."

"It's the opening night of the winter shows. They start at seven…"

"Please Jru. I really need you to do this. If you don't get it today, I won't be able to get it until after the New Years." The trip to the motorcycle shop and then out to their mom's house would take thirty minutes alone. She didn't want to be late for Emily's arrival, but she couldn't say no to her sister.

"Fine, I'll do it."

Kelly leapt a little. "Thank you, so much! Now, make sure you take it to Mom's house and your Christmas present is actually there too." She turned to leave, "I'll see you for New Years in Madrid?"

Jru grinned, "Maybe…"

"Your sister invited you to Madrid for New Years?" Spencer asked, after Kelly had left.

"Yeah, we won't see each other for Christmas and my parents do a bunch of boring functions for the holidays so Kelly actually suggested a girls' trip this year. She and I in Madrid…I think she wants to bond with me."

"Yeah, Melissa went through that phase a few times. Never got a trip to Madrid out of it though," Spencer sighed with a bit of jealousy.

"These eggs suck," Jru decided. Spencer couldn't help but to smile.

"I know this awesome place to get French toast…"

Jru's stomach growled in frustration. "Lead the way," she agreed eagerly.

* * *

"I think this is a bad idea," Spencer said cautiously. It was nearly eight hours later and she and Jru had spent the entire day jumping from one activity to another. It had done a great job of keeping them occupied, but now it was quarter to six and they sat in the parking lot of the custom motorcycle shop.

"What do you mean?" Jru asked rubbing her flat stomach. They had just come from dinner and she was stuffed. "I told Kelly I would take the bike to Mom's."

"Yeah, but that was this morning before it looked like it will either rain or snow, Jru."

Jru grabbed her helmet out of the backseat of Spencer's car. "Well, you'd better get home before it starts," she joked. Spencer frowned and began to pout. "Seriously, I'll be at my mom's in no time and then I'm getting dressed and heading to the theater. I will be fine!"

"She can pick it up after New Years," Spencer tried again. Jru shook her head laughing. She opened the door and exited the car. "Okay, fine. I'm gonna follow you to your mom's."

"It's in the opposite direction and if it is going to rain or snow or whatever, I want you to be home safely. How about I call you as soon as I get to my mom's?" Jru conceded.

"Okay, sounds good," Spencer finally agreed. "But as soon as you get there!"

Jru turned to walk away but stopped. "Hey, thanks for distracting me today," she said seriously.

Spencer had assumed that Jru didn't realize that she had drove up today to be a distraction but she had realized. "I just want you to be happy, Jru."

Jru smiled again, that classic soft smile and laughed, "I know Spencer…thank you." And with that she disappeared into custom shop.

After twenty minutes of paperwork and confirmation that Jru was allowed to take the bike, the owner of the custom shop had released a brand new K 1600 GT motorcycle into her custody. It was a beautiful machine and although it had begun raining slightly, Jru was eager to get on the road. The metallic blue machine handled beautifully under Jru's control. She had actually listened to her sister for once, and had taken the off-highway roads to her parents' home in the country. Jru downshift and slowed a bit as the cold rain seemed to pick up. She wasn't particularly worried now because she was only about five miles away from her destination, but now the traffic on the small winding road seemed to pick up.

"Geez," Jru moaned, as the rain blurred her vision a bit more through the helmet. And suddenly, it wasn't just the rain that screwed up her vision, but headlights. The headlights were closer than she expected and they didn't seem to be turning at all, so she had to be the one to take action. She maneuvered too quickly for the now slick road and the bike careened to the side of the road into the grass while Jru's body caught the impact of the hard, wet pavement.

Jru tried to sit up quickly but failed miserably. Before she knew it, someone hovered over her. "Are you okay!" the voice trembled yet was firm. "Hey kid …are you okay?"

Jru raised her hands and pulled at her helmet that was still firmly fitted on her head. "I'm fine," she struggled to sit up and finally stand. A sharp pain coursed through her body and she ended up on one knee.

"Hey kids, don't move," the man said a bit frantically. He wasn't expecting a girl driving the motorcycle and now he knew he was in trouble. "I'm calling the paramedics."

"I'm fine…I'm fine," Jru said a bit more firmly this time. Her shoulder was beginning to throb but she was nearly home and she really didn't have time make a pit-stop at the hospital. "I live up the road…just help me check my bike," she pleaded. The guy looked at her for a while, and then did as she had asked. Miraculously, the bike only had two hardly noticeable scratches on its rear.

"Here, take this…" the man handed her his card. "If you need anything…call me, okay?" he instructed. He didn't like letting her go, but if she insisted and only lived down the road. "Anything…"

Jru tucked the card into the back of her ripped jeans, and hopped back on the bike. She was home in no time and did as her sister had directed. Although her side hurt a bit, her shoulder was now stiffening up, and her leg was bleeding a bit; Jru figured it was nothing more severe than any injury she had sustained doing sports, so she headed upstairs into her room. It was already six forty and if she didn't make it back soon, she would miss Emily. She removed her wet clothes and changed into dry ones, patched her leg, and headed back downstairs.

"Jru," her father broke her stride. "What are you doing here?" he asked curiously. He had just came home himself and was surprised that his daughter had actually stopped by. She had become super independent since getting her apartment some months earlier and since he worked out of the country most of the time, he rarely saw her.

"I dropped a motorcycle off for Kelly. It's in the garage," Jru said quickly. "Dad, I have to go, I'm running super late. I'm gonna take one of Mom's cars okay…I'll bring it back …" she couldn't finish the sentence because the pain nearly brought her to her knees again.

"What is going on, Jru?" her father said urgently. He went over and helped steady his daughter.

"Dad...I think I need to go to the hospital," Jru eeked out before the room went black.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Emily sat up and searched her nightstand to kill the incessant buzzing of her cell phone. She had survived a rough night; the night when she stood Jru up at the theater and hid out at Aria's house for most of the night. It was nearly midnight before Emily realized that Jru was serious about keeping her side of the deal. She hadn't contacted her, and even though it hurt to know, Emily figured she would have to put Jru Favors in the rearview of her mind and heart.

The ringing stopped for a moment and then started again. Emily picked it up and rubbed her eyes. It was a number she didn't know and although she was reluctant to pick it up, she did. "Hello," she answered, still groggy.

"Emily," the voice said softly, almost as if it were whispering. "This is Colby."

Emily rolled her eyes despite herself. She hadn't figured Jru would be the type to get her ex-girlfriend to do her dirty work. "Before you start," Emily began with annoyance. "What went on between Jru and me is our business. We don't need you playing referee. And I definitely don't want you defending her honor and then swooping in to pick of the pieces of her broken heart…"

"Emily, Jru was in a motorcycle accident last night. She's in Presbyterian Hospital. I thought you'd like to know." And with that, the phone line went dead.

How was she supposed to react to that? Emily sat dumbfounded in the middle of her bed for a few more minutes before getting dressed as quickly as possible. Presbyterian Hospital was only about fifteen minutes away but in those fifteen minutes every possible question had gone through Emily's mind. Why had Colby called her? Didn't Jru know that she didn't show up last night, or did the accident happen before then? Emily was so confused, but more than anything, she was terrified that something serious had happened to Jru.

"Jru Favors," Emily said quickly to the man at the front desk.

"She's in the ICU, room 8," the man replied, confirming one of Emily's greatest fears immediately. It was serious enough that Jru was in the ICU. She reached the ICU in sheer panic mode but stopped when she saw Colby standing outside of room 8.

"Kelly, calm down…she's out of surgery and resting," Colby whispered outside of the glass pod-shape room. "Your mother got here this morning; she is on the warpath for whoever hit her baby, or ran her off the road or whatever. Andrew is calm as always though." Her words stopped when she saw Emily standing in the distance. "Hey, I'll call you back later. You are coming back aren't you?" Colby hung up after a few more moments and shifted from one foot to another.

"What happened?" Emily asked gently. She figured Colby disliked her presence almost as much as she hated hers, but they weren't there for themselves. Jru was hurt, and although Emily hated this fact, she knew that Colby cared deeply about Jru.

"As far as I know, she was dropping a motorcycle off at her parents' house for Kelly and she had an accident. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but her spleen ruptured and they had to repair it."

"So she's going to be fine?" Emily questioned uneasily.

"Colby, did you get in touch with Kelly?" an older redheaded woman questioned. She looked almost exactly like Jru's older sister but older.

"Yes, Athena, she's actually on her way back now," Colby informed the woman.

"Good," the woman ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm going down to the cafeteria to get breakfast, would you like anything?"

"No thank you," Colby answered.

"I'll be back in a little bit," she said to Colby before heading towards the elevator.

Colby turned back to Emily, giving her a look that displayed that she didn't quite understand Jru's attraction to the girl. "She's going to be fine, most likely," Colby informed her. "She has awakened once this morning."

"Only once?" Emily asked worriedly.

"She's on a lot of medicines after the surgery," Colby explained.

Emily leaned against the wall for a moment, "Oh okay." She was suddenly more frightened than she was before. "Maybe I should let her rest…" she said insecurely.

"She asked for you. While she was awake, she asked for you," Colby said trying to squash Emily's panic. "She wants to see you Emily."

Emily entered the pod as quietly as possibly, but the small amount of noise she made was enough to make Jru open her hazel eyes. She managed a weak but even smile and tried to sit up. "Hey, don't try to move," Emily advised. It was hard for her to keep her tears at bay; Jru looked so fragile and weak lying in the hospital bed. Her gown lay haphazardly off of her thin shoulders and the dark purple bruises showed on her left shoulder.

"I'm fine," she mumbled, closing her eyes to a slight shot of pain that raced down her ribcage. "You didn't have to come this early," she managed.

"Stop, don't be silly," Emily said finally feeling comfortable enough to come closer. She cupped Jru's face gently. "What happened?"

Jru readjusted her position but closed her eyes. "It really doesn't matter now, does it?" Emily looked at her seriously. "I slid off of a motorcycle, broke a rib that ended up lacerating part of my spleen. I had a tiny amount of bleeding into my abdomen and passed out; and now my mother and father are freaking out."

"It doesn't sound like a small bleed," Emily corrected her.

"Well, I never had much of a stomach for blood," Jru laughed at her own pun, although Emily couldn't find it funny. Jru shrugged and took Emily's hand. "Stop worrying; I'm still alive and well. A lacerated spleen can't stop me. I'll be fine in three weeks or so…"

"Is that what the doctors told you? Is that why you are in ICU?"

"I'm in ICU because there is some risk of infection when the spleen is weakened. And Athena Favors will sue this place closed if I so much as sneeze too hard. Where is my mother?"

"I think getting breakfast," Emily told Jru. "You didn't tell me your father's name is Andrew."

Jru interlocked her fingers with Emily's but fought to stay awake. "How do you think I got a screwed up name like Jru? My dad was upset when he realized that my mom had no intentions of giving me his last name…Athena Favors' loves her name more than anything, so the compromise was me being named Jru," she closed her eyes, "I wish I would have gotten a vote on that…"

"I love your name," Emily brushed a few runaway strands of hair out of Jru's face, "even more, I love you." Jru was already asleep. Emily sat back in the chair beside Jru's bed and watched her sleep for upwards of an hour before deciding that there were things she needed to take care of herself. She kissed Jru's hand, then forehead and exited the room as quietly as possible. Once outside, she quickly dialed Spencer.

"Spence…Jru had an accident," she began without preamble.

"What do you mean?" Spencer asked automatically alarmed.

"She had a motorcycle accident last night. She's in the hospital now, in the ICU; but she's fine. She was awake and she was talking a little earlier."

"What, I don't understand. She texted me before she went to meet you last night." Emily could hear Spencer moving around. "I'm coming to the hospital now."

"Okay, but I'm headed out. I'm coming back in a few hours though."

"Okay. Hey Em, thanks for calling," Spencer said before hanging up.

Emily looked at the time on her phone. Twenty-three minutes after eleven; as good a time as any to do what she had to do.

* * *

"Emily…I didn't know you were coming this morning," Paige smiled. She loved when her girlfriend popped up unannounced, but the look on Emily's face made her pause. "What's the matter?" she asked carefully.

"We need to talk, Paige," Emily started. Paige pulled her inside of the house and they settled in her living room.

"What do we need to talk about?" Paige questioned frowning.

Emily looked down for a while, unsure of what to say next. This was a lot easier in her head on the drive over. She would simply explain to Paige that she and Jru had become closer than she expected and that she had fallen in love. But now, looking at Paige, it would feel like punching her in the face to say that.

"Em," Paige said slowly. "What is it?"

"I had kinda worked out how to say this in my mind…it's much harder in real life," Emily admitted shifting. Paige was determined not to say anything. Perhaps her silence would make this moment pass without the gut-wrenching heartache that she was sure would soon follow. Realizing that Paige wasn't going to bail her out, Emily took a fortifying breath and said, "I think we just need to be friends." Paige closed her eyes; the exact words that she didn't want to hear. She had felt it for a couple of weeks now, but there was absolutely nothing worse than confirmation. "Are you going to say anything?"

"It's about her isn't it?" Paige asked through gritted teeth. "Spencer's friend, Jru or whatever? I see how she looked at you, how you looked her," a few tears spilled pass Paige's eyelids unchecked. Your friends really love that don't they? Especially Spencer…what did she do? Introduce you two; hook you up because she hates me? Emily, they have been trying to break us up forever! Especially Spencer…"

"It's not like that," Emily began to explain.

"Baby you don't love her! This is something Spencer cooked up because she hates me, Emily!"

"Spencer has nothing to do with this," Emily sighed. "Or Jru, for that matter; we're just better as friends Paige."

"So what?" Paige yelled, standing up quickly, "You just used me to bridge your loneliness after Maya?"

"Don't!" Emily said standing up too. "Don't bring Maya up; this is about us!"

"This is how it always is for you and your friends, isn't it Emily? You use people, get your way and then drop them when you don't need them. But who cares right; I'm sure Jru is right up your alley. I bet you two were laughing behind my back the entire time!" A fresh flash of anger passed over Paige's face at the thought.

"No, she didn't know about you at all until that day at Spencer's."

"That makes me feel a lot better," Paige plopped back down defeated. She buried her head in her hands and cried. "You are all I've ever wanted…"

"This doesn't have to stop us from being friends, Paige," Emily said finally.

"We say that don't we…but I can't be your friend; I won't be your friend."

"Paige…"

"Just go!" Paige said trying to choke back the disgust in her voice. "You don't get to be the good guy now and laugh at me with your friends and new girlfriend later."

"I would never do that!" Emily said adamantly.

"Yeah, because Ali never did that; and Spencer and Hanna and Aria never do that now! Just leave me alone Emily."

Emily knew there was nothing left to say. She headed toward the door and stopped, "I really am sorry, Paige, and one day I hope we can be friends."

"I really feel sorry for Jru…you aren't the prize you appear to be Emily Fields," Paige said sadly still wiping tears away. Emily closed the front door behind her and fought back the sting of Paige's last words as she headed back to Jru.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Two Weeks Later

"Let's admit, you kinda got off lucky here," Hanna quipped looking through Emily's closet. She pulled out a red and white dressed and held it up. Emily shook her head, no. "Well what exactly do you want to wear?" Hanna questioned in frustration. Emily wasn't paying attention. "Why did you even call me over if you weren't going to take my advice?"

"Because I need your help," Emily finally looked up from her cell phone. "Just help me pick out something decent for dinner with her parents."

"What are Jru's parents like exactly? And when are you going to tell me how things with down with Paige? She didn't threaten to kill you or anything, did she?"

Emily turned and arched an eyebrow at Hanna. "Her feelings were hurt, Hanna. I was basically cheating on her, but no she didn't threaten to kill me."

"I wouldn't put it pass her," Hanna mumbled going back to the closet. "How about this orange dress?"

"Why did you never like Paige?" Emily asked curiously.

"Doesn't matter…you aren't with her anymore," Hanna shrugged. "I think you should wear this one." Hanna handed the orange dress to Emily.

"I'm going to be uncomfortable all night in this," Emily sighed.

"Well, wear whatever you want to wear. Jru is going to think you look gorgeous anyway."

"What is her mother going to think? Or better yet, what do you think her sister is going to think? Kelly hates me…"

"What did you do to her sister?" Hanna couldn't help but laugh.

Emily looked down and sent a quick text. "I just don't think she likes me. And it definitely doesn't help that Jru probably told her I had a girlfriend when we first met. She is very protective of Jru. Oh…and she is a Colby fan!"

"Well, I'm a fan of Colby too," Hanna admitted. "Have you met her yet?"

Emily took the dress and tried it on. It looked good on her but she still felt uncomfortable. "I'm just going to wear jeans," she decided. She changed into a pair of black jeans and purple long sleeve top. "How does this look?"

"Fine, I guess," Hanna smiled. "Who are you texting?"

"Jru of course…" Emily smiled slyly. "She's texting me directions…"

"Hmmm, what kind of directions exactly?"

"To the restaurant, Hanna. She has a doctor's appointment so I am meeting her and her family there." Emily texted her girlfriend again and smiled.

"So, have you talked to Spencer lately? I feel like I haven't seen her since before Christmas break."

"She's planning something special for Toby, so I doubt we'll see much of her until after that's over," Emily informed her. "It's their anniversary this week."

Hanna poked through Emily's jewelry box. "When did you get these?" Hanna pulled out a pair of small diamond studs.

"Put them back Hanna," Emily said slowly.

"Oh…don't want me to touch the things that Jru bought for you?" Hanna questioned.

"Jru didn't get those for me; Paige did," was all Emily had to say for Hanna to back away. Hanna wanted to comment that these were new earrings; Hanna knew ever pair of earrings that she, Emily, Aria or Spencer had bought in the last year, but she, for once, kept her comment to herself. Emily was never great at breaking up with people and this was especially true with Paige. They always seemed to find their way back to one another.

"Do I look nervous?" Emily asked twenty minutes later after she was fully dressed.

"Very nervous…" Hanna confirmed. "Very nervous."

* * *

"Hello…" Jru answered calmly as the nurse removed the first of a line of stitches on the side of her belly button. The long wound ran the length of her pelvis to right above her belly button and Jru had already anticipated that this process was going to take a while."What's up Spencer?" she asked through gritted teeth. She hadn't heard a lot from Spencer in the last few days but that wasn't particularly unusual.

"What are you doing right now?" Spencer asked in what seemed like a rush. Jru tried to sit up but the pressure from the nurse forced her back down.

"Getting stitches removed," Jru replied closing her eyes tightly to the pain. Her wound was still tender, but she couldn't admit that to anyone.

"What are you doing after that?"

"Dinner with my mother, father and Emily…why? Spencer what's going on?"

"I need help and you are the only person I can talk to…" Spencer admitted.

Jru was quiet. The nurse was quickly picking out stitches and Jru could feel some of the pressure release from her left side. "Meet me at my apartment in twenty minutes?"

"Thank you, Jru!"

Thirty minutes later, Spencer rang the doorbell of Jru's apartment. She had barely slept the entire night and she needed to talk to someone. She couldn't talk to Aria, Hanna or Emily; especially Emily, because they were too close to the problem. Jru was impartial, patient and rational. She would know exactly what to do.

Jru opened the door and waited for Spencer to enter. "What's going on?" Jru asked.

"I haven't been sleeping much lately. Can I ask you a question?"

"You had to drive all the way here to ask me a question?" Skepticism was written all over Jru's face. Spencer gave her a blank but serious look. "Okay, sorry, what's going on?"

"If someone was keeping a secret from you, would you want to know?" Spencer asked seriously.

"Is there something I need to know about Emily, because I just got my stitches out and I'm not sure my body or mind can take much more," Jru leaned against wall.

"It's not about Emily," Spencer murmured. "I can't tell you exactly but…I need to know, would you want to know, Jru?"

"Yeah, I would want to know everything." Spencer walked around the room, her demeanor somewhat timid followed by flashes of what seemed to be hysteria. "What do you need from me, Spencer?" Jru asked carefully.

"Do you know where this address is?" she handed Jru a piece of crumbled up paper.

Jru looked down at the paper and shook her head, "Yeah, I know the place. It's about forty minutes from here, somewhere out in the woods near a lake. My sister used to date a guy who lived up there. Nothing special though…a bunch of empty homes now I think. Some cabin like shacks for fishing on the lake in the summer."

"I need you to take me there… tonight…" Spencer stopped pacing.

"I have dinner with Emily and my mother in less than two hours. All I want to do is shower and get ready for this…"

"Please Jru. I can't do this alone and I can't do this with anyone else. I need you to do this for me."

Jru picked up her phone. The lie to her mother and father was easy. "Hey mom," Jru had begin. "I kinda feel horrible after getting my stitches out. Can we reschedule dinner?" Jru nodded and listened to her parent. "Yeah mom, I'm going to rest. Mom, I promise. I'll call you tomorrow morning, okay. I love you too, mom,"

The lie to Emily was a lot more difficult. "Yeah, I got my stitches out," Jru began. "It hurts a little bit," she admitted. "I was thinking that maybe we could reschedule dinner? My mom is going to be in town at least two more weeks. No Em, you shouldn't drive all the way up here; I'll be fine. I'm just going to lie down and rest. I'll call you tomorrow?" Spencer watched as Jru hung up.

"I hate lying to her," Jru frowned.

"Trust me, it's for a good cause," Spencer said seriously. "Let's go!"

"What's so special about going up here?" Jru asked as she and Spencer pulled onto the highway in her Jag.

"Something I need to know may be up there," Spencer answered simply.

"Really, I cancelled dinner with Emily and my parents and that's all you can give me?"

"It's definitely complicated Jru. But sometimes, past sins come back to bite you in the ass. But you won't have to worry about that, because you don't have past sins, right?"

"Not that I can think of. What past sins do you have, Spence?" Jru smoothly passed a car on the highway.

"How are you and Emily doing?" Spencer changed the subject. She wasn't really in the mood to examine her sins but she knew that this address could change a lot of them.

"I feel bad because she had to break up with Paige and I feel like I didn't have her back. I caused the problem, I should have at least been there to support her," Jru said sadly. "I know how badly Emily felt and I still can't get it out of my head how scary it must have been to be at that auditorium and me not showing up. She must have figured that I had stood her up."

"Well, you were in an accident. She should know by now that you wouldn't do anything to hurt her. That's more than anyone could say about Paige. She's practically a nightmare. I can't really understand why they were ever together but…" Spencer's words trailed off as Jru pulled onto a dirt road.

"Which address is it?" Jru asked as they began passing small cabins positioned along a lake.

"743," Jru said quickly.

"That's all the way up the mountain probably," Jru surmised slowing down to see the address on the first mailbox was 132. Spencer became quiet, her nerves suddenly on edge. Once they reached house 645, Spencer turned to Jru.

"Let's stop here and walk the rest of the way up," she suggested.

"That could be a mile up the road, Spencer."

"You can't walk a mile?" Spencer retorted. Jru pulled off to the side of the road and both girls exited the car. Jru popped her trunk and retrieved two high-powered flashlights. "You come prepared, don't you?" Spencer asked impressed.

"You never know what may happen," Jru nodded. "Plus, my dad is over protective as hell."

The house wasn't a full mile away, but it was a steep hike up the winding road of hill. Jru was nearly out of breath by the time they reached the dark 743 cabin. Spencer passed Jru and stepped onto the cabin's porch. She looked through the window but couldn't see anything.

"Do you have a key or something?" Jru asked coming up behind her.

Spencer jumped a little. "No…" she ran her fingers through her ponytail, "But I do have bobby-pins…"

"Really, you are going to pick a lock?" Jru asked in disbelief. Spencer was already working on the lock. After nearly five minutes of trying, Spencer heard the lock turn. She turned the knob and pushed the door but it wouldn't budge. She looked up at the top of the door for the first time. "Dammit! How did I miss that," she spat out seeing the outside padlock on the door.

"Can you pick that too?" Jru asked leaning against the banister. They both moved to the backdoor where they faced the same problem. "Who padlocks doors from the outside?" Jru shook her head. She ran the range of the light up to the windows above them. "That window is slightly opened though…" Jru stood on the banister and leaped onto the covering-roof over the porch. She pulled herself up easily and lay down across the roof. "Jump up," she instructed. Spencer did as she was told, and Jru pulled Spencer up with a bit more effort than it took to pull herself up.

"You aren't hurt are you?" Spencer watched as Jru grabbed her side.

"Nah, I'm fine," Jru shook her head.

"I don't think we should both go in," Spencer commented. "Someone should stay out here and watch out."

"You just think I'm hurt. I'm going in," Jru lifted the window completely and peeked inside. She backed into the house and landed on the hardwood floor below. "What's so important about this place?" Jru questioned when Spencer stood beside her.

Spencer didn't answer, just turned her flashlight on and began to explore the cabin. There was nothing impressive about the front two rooms, just a living room and a kitchen. Jru opened the refrigerator, nothing remarkable, and closed it. She really didn't understand what was so important about this cabin, but then she heard Spencer scream in frustration. She headed to the back room where Spencer was ripping down papers off of a wall.

"What is going on?" Jru asked in utter confusion. "What the hell is all of this stuff?" The walls were lined with pictures, newspaper clippings and miniature voodoo-like dolls.

"This is never going to stop," Spencer said driving her fist into the wall.

"Shhh!" Jru cut off her flashlight. "Come on! I think I hear the front door." Jru pulled Spencer out of the backroom and back into the bathroom. They heard the front door open and close and someone stop for a moment. It was eerily quiet before Jru and Spencer heard footsteps coming down the narrow hallway. A light clicked on in the hallway and Jru silently moved onto the bathtub edge so her feet didn't cast a shadow into the hallway. It would be a matter of seconds before whoever would find the mess Spencer had left, and she or he would be looking for whoever had made the mess. "Go!" Jru mouthed, but it was too late. They heard the room to the backdoor slam. Spencer bolted towards the window that they had let themselves into, followed quickly by Jru.

Spencer made it through the window first and by the time Jru made it back onto the roof, whoever realized that someone was still in the house. "We'd better speed up now!" Jru yelled, making her way onto the rooftop.

Spencer had a good head start on Jru and was halfway down the driveway by the time Jru began lowering herself off of the roof and onto the banister. Jru could hear someone walking around the side of the house and loss her footing. The fall wasn't far but the impact was painful. However, she popped up quickly with the impact still reverberating though the rest of her body. She rubbed her temple as a blurry figure emerged. She figured it would be best not to wait for the figure to catch up to her, so she turned and sprinted down the hill.

Spencer was already in the driver's seat of the car when Jru slid in the passenger's seat. "Drive," she commanded holding her head. The figure was close behind her and they didn't have time to waste. Spencer backed up quickly and made a u-turn in the middle of the road, speeding down the hill.

"What the hell was that about Spencer?" Jru asked angrily. Her shoulders hurt, not to mention the back of her head was throbbing too. She grabbed the back of her neck and grimaced. "What the hell did you do to that guy?"

"Guy?" Spencer mumbled. "Are you sure it was a guy, Jru?"

"Unless you know a girl who is about six-one with short hair…then yeah, I'm positive it was a boy," Jru confirmed holding her head. She raised her shirt a bit, "I think I'm bleeding."

Spencer looked over at Jru. "Inside or out?" she asked frantically.

"Out," Jru confirmed. The white gauze that was covering the place where her stitches once were, was now red.

"Hospital or home?" Spencer asked still frantically.

"Home…" she replied reclining her seat back. "If nothing else Spencer, you now have my full attention…"

"Trust me; you don't want to get mixed up in this, Jru…"

Jru patted her leather jacket pocket and then her jeans pocket. "I think it's too late for that," she scowled. "I lost my phone back there…"

"What!" Spencer swerved to the side of the road and pounded on the brakes. "They'll know who you are!"

"Who are they, Spencer! What are you talking about?" Jru was now beginning to panic too; which was only increasing her pain.

Spencer placed her head on the steering wheel and began to cry, "I just put you in horrible danger…"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

"You have to promise me … promise me that you will just go away if you have to," Spencer said calmly. It was the first time since she and Jru had made it back to the apartment that Spencer was actually calm.

"What are you talking about?" Jru questioned, removing the cold pack that was on her side. She wasn't exactly sure that it was the right thing to do. The bleeding had stopped with pressure, but there was still a small bit of swelling. She was having a problem catching her breath and her ribs ached, but after effectively falling off the roof, she counted herself lucky.

"I'm asking you to just leave if I can't protect you," Spencer repeated. She had gone through two fits of hysteria. One because she was unsure of what the hell she had seen in that cabin and two because she had put, not only her friend, but Emily's girlfriend in danger. Spencer knew that Jru was perhaps the most stubborn person in the world. Not to mention the fact that she found herself relatively invincible. "I mean your mother is on the committee of foreign affairs right? You can fly off to Paris or Madrid or anywhere outside of here for a while…"

"Yeah, I only have five classes starting up next week," Jru reminded her. "I can't just run off and I'm sure you are blowing this out of proportion. Even though you won't tell me exactly what is going on. 'It's dangerous' is not an answer. Ouch," she moaned taking the ice pack off. "Still not going to tell me, are you?"

"No…it's easier this way…" Spencer rubbed her temples.

"Well, I don't have a phone, it's almost midnight and I want to take my medicine and go to sleep. Take a shower, borrow some clothes and we'll talk about this in the morning?"

Spencer starred at Jru. It's not that easy, she kept telling herself but Jru made her feel safe and made everything sound so very simple. "Okay," Spencer nodded finally. She borrowed some clothes and took a long shower, trying to relax her mind a bit. It helped some, because by the time she made it back into Jru's bedroom, everything didn't feel so bleak.

"You feel better?" Jru asked rubbing her eyes.

"You feel better?" Spencer said looking at the cold pack that was back on Jru's side.

"Just being overly cautious probably," Jru admitted. "I'm thinking about getting a nice tattoo to cover up the scar that I'm going to have from the accident."

Spencer sat on the bed. "Your mother will kill you."

"She doesn't need to know," Jru smiled. She leaned over and picked up a medicine bottle. "I have about seven different medications, and I'm not sure what any of them do, except prevent infections."

"Infections may be the least of your worries, Jru."

Jru popped two of the pills and swallowed without water. "Let's agree to worry about that tomorrow. Now, I just want to see basketball highlights," she said clicking on the television. She was asleep before Sportcenter even came on.

* * *

There was an unacceptable amount of ringing in Spencer's ears but for the life of her, she couldn't open her eyes. "Do you have a house phone?" Spencer managed. She knew that it wasn't her cell phone and since Jru's phone was missing…

Jru groaned, "Yes, I think," she laughed mockingly. Spencer could feel her sit up and move off of the bed. "Hello…Kelly…I lost my phone, sorry."

Spencer turned over with her eyes still closed. She had a remarkable night of restful sleep; something she could honestly say hadn't happened in a while. It was almost uncanny, for some reason she felt safe with Jru and that induced a peaceful sleep.

"Kelly, it's like eight on Saturday, stop screwing with me. What do you want?" she heard her friend say into the phone. "Kelly, I'm on your contract, so you have to get me the phone...fine I will call Mom and give her an update on my 'condition.' Kelly…stop being annoying and just go shopping. Thank you…"

"Your sister?" Spencer asked waking up fully now.

"She said she had been trying my phone forever … she's going shopping today and she said she'll pick me up a new one. I feel like hell…" Jru admitted. Spencer opened her eyes almost expecting her friend to be green or half dead.

"You look fine," Spencer said, surprised.

Jru rearranged her pill bottles until she finally picked up one. She opened it and took one blue pill. "I'm gonna shower," she said finally. Jru disappeared for nearly an hour, most of which, Spencer spent in a state of half sleep. However, by the time Jru reentered the bedroom dressed, Spencer had sat up on the side of the bed.

"You do look kinda pale," Spencer noticed.

"Probably just because I'm starving," Jru shook her head. She made her way into the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of cereal. "You hungry?"

"No," Spencer yawned even though she was fully rested. "Jru, what are we going to do about what happened last night?" She realized Jru didn't take this seriously, but she recognized the real danger that her friend was now in. She couldn't help but feel an insurmountable guilt creeping through her body; not to mention the fact that there were still so many unanswered questions about the cabin.

"What do you think we should do, Spencer?" Jru asked calmly. Spencer was caught off guard. She expected Jru to be dismissive or at least irrational in her approach to this situation, but instead she was calm and ready to listen.

"We have to go back to that cabin, Jru. I have to get back in there …"

"For the phone?" she asked, somewhat confused.

"No…other reasons," Spencer couldn't fully explain so she just shook her head.

"How long can you not give me any information?"

"I'll tell you everything when it's time," Spencer finally promised. Jru accepted the answer as fair enough. "So we'll go back…"

"Yes, but not yet. We can't just go back again. He knows we've been there and inside…" Jru stated.

"Are you sure it's a guy?" Spencer hoped that Jru had seen something wrong. Maybe the fall had blurred her vision. Jru saw the look in her friend's eyes and nodded.

"Maybe I am wrong, Spencer. But we still have to do this right… and that means, not going back to that cabin yet. I have an idea, but I'll need a day, maybe two."

"What are you going to do?" Spencer asked curiously.

"You are allowed your secrets...give me a couple of days…promise me you won't do anything without me."

Spencer starred at Jru for a long moment. "Two days and I'm going back," Spencer promised. "Oh and Emily can't know what's going on."

"Spencer, I don't want to lie to her…or not tell her things…"

"Jru…be realistic, everyone has secrets…"

* * *

Emily shifted uncomfortable until her body met the soft curve of Jru's body. Although Jru was more muscular than most people, her body was incredibly soft. "If you keep moving against me like that…" Jru moaned softly. Emily had come over a little after she had woken up and taken a shower; and now she was lying in bed beside Jru, although her mind told her that this was a bad idea. She and Jru had come desperately close to doing something nefarious before and Emily wasn't sure neither had the resolve to pull back again.

"I'm trying to get comfortable without hurting you," Emily complained. She moved against Jru again and heard her let out a frustrated sigh.

"Okay, I'm getting up," Jru rushed to the other side of the bed. She swung her legs to the side and sat up.

"I'm sorry," Emily couldn't help but laugh. She put her hand on Jru's back and felt her tense. "Come on," Emily pleaded playfully. "It would be easier if we stayed in the living room," she suggested.

Jru lay back until her head was in Emily's lap, "Or we could just do something…" Emily didn't let her finish the sentence; instead she lowered her lips over Jru's. Before she knew it, she was at Jru's side, and then gently straddling her, pulling her shirt over her head. She stopped a moment and looked at down at Jru's creamy caramel skin and the scar that ran from her abdomen. She touched it gently and watched to see if Jru flinched.

"Promise me, no more motorcycles ever," Emily said resting her head against Jru's. She ran her hand up and down Jru's back and stopped. "What's this?" she ran her fingers along a small swollen spot on Jru's back. Jru ignored the inquisition and kissed Emily's neck. "Really," Emily pulled away and looked over Jru's shoulder to her back. "Baby, what happened?"

"Nothing," Jru lied. She would keep her promise to Spencer but she wasn't particularly good at lying. She pulled Emily's face closer to hers again and kissed her deeply. Emily was no position to argue right now, because kissing Jru made it impossible to think. She could see the desire rise in Jru's eyes, her once delicate hazel eyes now darkening with desire. Emily pressed her back tenderly, but Jru popped back up. "Are you sure?" Jru's voice almost trembled and Emily began to lift her own shirt over her head.

Emily bit down on her lower lip, but nodded her consent. She couldn't let her nervousness show, "Yes, I'm ready…I just don't want to hurt you," Emily confessed running her hand over the scar site and then across Jru's tightened stomach muscles. She moved her hands up pass Jru's black bra and settled over the place where her heart pounded against her chest.

Jru took her hands and kissed Emily's fingertips. "If you hurt me…we'll just switch positions," Jru smiled devilishly allowing Emily to pin her down.

* * *

"What's the matter?" Jru questioned nearly two hours later. Emily's expression had gone from one of total bliss to a melancholy shadow of itself. "You don't have to leave right now, do you?"

Emily moved a few strands of hair out of Jru's face and bent down to kiss Jru again. "No…I'm just worried that I hurt you. You've been holding your side for a while now." Jru removed her hand from her side. She had been doing that since the accident, and definitely since the night before. She didn't know if she wanted to be sure wasn't bleeding or if this was her new nervous habit.

"I promise you, I didn't feel any pain," Jru smirked. She stretched comfortably and slid to the edge of the bed.

"Where are you going?" Emily groaned. She sat up and pulled on one of Jru's U of Penn basketball shirts.

"Just gonna get some water," Jru smiled. She liked the fact that Emily wanted to keep her in bed. Emily listened to Jru head down the hallway and into the kitchen. She was back in a matter of moments, her black and blue checkered cotton shorts rolled at her waist and her black tee shirt tied right above her navel. She handed Emily a glass.

"Do you actually play that too?" Emily took a sip of the water and pointed towards the violin in the corner.

"The last time I told you an instrument I played, you made fun of me," Jru noted cockily. She sat back down on the bed and crossed her legs in front of her.

"You remember that?" Emily put her glass on the nightstand and then wrapped her legs around Jru possessively. "I feel kinda guilty…"

"For making fun of me…I can think of some ways you can make that up to me," Jru teased.

"No," Emily kissed the back of her shoulder and looked down at her back. "Baby, this looks really bad. What happened and what happened to your phone?" All Emily knew was that Spencer had stayed with Jru for some reason the night before. "You know I could have stayed with you last night … I mean if you didn't feel well."

Jru stiffened a bit. She was a horrible liar and having any conversation at all about last night was going to trip her up. "So you could have taken advantage of me like tonight?" she joked.

"I'm serious," Emily ran her fingers through her hair. "I would have taken care of you."

Jru turned slowly, "I know Emily. Spencer stopped by on the spur of the moment type thing. We went out and grabbed a quick bite to eat and I guess I left my phone at the restaurant or somewhere in between and Kelly is so useless. She hasn't even brought me a new one yet."

"Oh so dinner with Spencer was fine, but not with me…" Emily stuck her tongue out.

"…And my mom and you know that wasn't the case. Spencer is very persuasive when she wants to be…" Jru and Spencer had rehearsed their story a few times but Jru still wasn't comfortable lying. "You'll have plenty of time to meet my mother and father and they'll love you."

Emily pulled back and pulled a layer of bedding on top of her. She yawned, for some reason she had become incredibly tired all of a sudden. "Come hold me…" she looked over her should and smiled.

"So demanding," Jru wrapped her arms around Emily. Before they could get completely comfortable, Emily's phone vibrated on the nightstand. Emily reached over and picked it up.

**2/3 is a good percentage but 3/3 is perfect. Who says love doesn't KILL**

**-A**

Emily felt the terror crept into her body. She had been insulated from A's threats for the last few weeks, but she should have known that it was too good to be true. "I need to go, now," Emily scrambled up from the bed. She didn't give Jru much time to question her, as she pulled on her clothes.

"Wait, what …where are you going?" Jru stammered.

"I have to go," was all Emily said on her way out of the door. She had to get to Aria, Hanna and Spencer, because she couldn't let Jru get hurt because of her!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

_Emily pounded on the door not really wanting to wait any longer. She had been at Jru's door for fifteen minutes now and there was no answer. "Come on Jru…" she moaned. She had left abruptly last night and now she was afraid that Jru didn't want to talk to her anymore. She pounded on the door again and out of curiosity decided to turn the knob on the door. It turned freely and Emily pushed open the door slightly. "Jru…." She could almost hear her voice echo in the apartment. "Jru…are you here?" she stepped inside the doorway and closed it behind her. Jru's apartment was immaculate as usual, not a thing out of place, except her brown leather jacket that lay across the back of the couch. It was freezing outside, and Jru usually didn't leave without her favorite jacket. "Jru …" Emily moved down the hallway and she could hear someone moving in the bedroom. She relaxed a bit; at least Jru was home and they could talk about last night. "Jru…I'm sorry about last night…" Emily went to the bedroom and opened the door…Jru lay in bed motionless, her hazel eyes cold and looking directly at the ceiling. She couldn't be hurt, Emily's mind screamed. Was this why the door was unlocked? Emily ran towards the bed and collapsed beside it. "Jru," she cried desperately. She had left and given A the opportunity to get to yet another one of her girlfriend. "Jru…please be okay…please be okay…"_

Emily awoke in a cold sweat beside Hanna, who was gently curved towards the edge of the bed. It took a few minutes before her breathing returned to normal and for her to realize that it was nearly nine in the morning. Edging to the side of the bed, Emily quickly sat up and ran her fingers through her hair. Hanna rolled over and looked up at the sunlit ceiling. "What time is it?" she moaned. She stretched a bit and sat up. "What are you doing?" she questioned as she watched Emily heading into the hallway.

"I need to go to Jru's," Emily said disappearing.

"What? Emily, why do you have to go to Jru's? What exactly happened last night?" Hanna rolled off her bed and into the hallway too.

"A texted me last night…" Emily explained. "Mona is going after Jru and I plan to do everything in my power to stop her.

"Wait...she threatened Jru? Does Jru know?"

"What am I supposed to say Hanna; sorry Jru but some psycho is going to threaten your life because me and my friends picked on her when we were younger? Not the best conversation to have…and I really don't want Jru to know that we were bitches growing up…"

"Emily, we are still bitches," Hanna smiled. "So you left Jru last night over a text message?"

"Hanna, I was not thinking about that okay! So far, A hasn't been exactly great to my relationships! She hasn't been really great to your relationships either Hanna."

Hanna fell back onto the bed. "Well, actually when Caleb got shot…it kinda had nothing to do with Mona… and everything to do with that psycho…"

"Okay Hanna, I don't need a reminder…I just need to get Jru right now and do some explaining."

"Okay…but I'm going with you," Hanna announced.

Emily would have argued but she really didn't want to face Jru alone. "Fine…we are leaving soon."

"Stop looking at me like that," Emily warned looking at the clock on her dashboard. She and Hanna had been sitting in her car for over fifteen minutes now, and the butterflies in her stomach hadn't subsided.

"What is the big deal?" Hanna asked, impatiently. "I would like to think that we didn't drive up here to sit in your car, Em."

Emily opened her door and got out. Hanna followed eagerly until they were in front of Jru's door. "Are you going to ring the doorbell?" Hanna tapped her foot impatiently.

"Give me a second," Emily looked over had Hanna, who was grinning with anticipation. "Are you this excited about seeing her closet?"

Before Hanna could answer, the front door opened. The tall red-head looked from one girl to the next and turned back around. "Your girlfriend is here," Kelly yelled back inside. She turned back to Emily and Hanna. "Hello Emily," Kelly said looking so directly at her it made her uncomfortable. There was no doubt in Emily's mind that Kelly couldn't stand her, but Kelly was clever enough not to let it show.

"Hello Kelly," Emily forced a smile also. She peered over at Hanna, who stared at Kelly like she was the sunset. "This is my friend, Hanna."

Kelly flashed a genuine smile. "Hello Hanna; you two will have to excuse me, I just stopped by and my sister has already tried my nerves pretty severely."

"Kelly, you do this all the time! You plan for me to be places I don't want to be," Jru screamed from inside the apartment. Kelly rolled her green eyes and turned back around.

"Jru be ready at eight!" and with that she headed down the hallway and to the outside of the building.

Jru appeared from her kitchen with an open box of Kashi cereal. "Is she gone?" she directed her question to Hanna because she refused to look at Emily yet.

"Yep, she's gone," Hanna's attention was stolen by the four store bags in front of her. "What are these?"

"Something my sister dropped off for tonight …" Jru raised an eyebrow. "She thinks I'm going to the Rittenhouse Ball tonight."

"You got invited to the Rittenhouse Ball!" Hanna yelped in glee. "Why wouldn't you go?" Hanna pulled a black lace Dolce and Gabbana dress from one of the black zipped up bags.

"Hanna," Emily groaned in frustration.

"Jesus, is that Dolce," Jru groaned also. She walked over to the dressed and examined it. "It is a nice dress…"

"Gorgeous," Hanna whispered. "What kind of shoes did she bring you with it?"

"I'm sure she stayed on theme," Jru said popping some more dry cereal into her mouth. "Doesn't matter, it's all going back." she grabbed one of the bags and opened it to pull out her new phone. She was doing a good job of ignoring Emily until she caught the soft pout on her girlfriend's face. "So what do I owe this good morning pleasure?" she asked somewhat sarcastically.

"I don't know…I just wanted to see your closet," Hanna admitted.

Jru cocked an arched eyebrow but laughed. "Down the hall…" she pointed. Hanna didn't have to be told twice as she headed down the hallway to Jru's bedroom. There was an uncomfortable silence between Jru and Emily, either one of them knowing what to say. It was one thing to be walked out on, but after sex drove a particular stake in Jru's heart.

"Are we not talking?" Emily felt awkward and unsure of what to say. Jru was never cold and distance and her staunch attitude frightened Emily a bit. Jru looked up from her phone and shrugged. "Jru, I'm sorry."

"Do you enjoy apologizing to me, Emily?" Jru's sarcastic tone bit at Emily. She moved back into the kitchen and placed her box of cereal on the table. "Don't worry…it is rhetorical. What happened last night? Why did you run away?"

For a brief moment, Emily wanted to tell Jru the whole truth. Tell her about the text message and how A had been torturing her and her friends for years now; but she stopped. It wasn't just her secret to tell. It had never been and although she didn't want to lie to Jru…she knew she had to. "Aria had an emergency and I wanted to call you or text you but…" she pointed to her phone.

Jru wanted desperately to swallow the lie, take Emily into her arms and pretend like Emily wasn't concealing something from her. Kelly thought Emily was still seeing Paige. "_If she lied once, Jru,"_ Kelly had said earlier, dropping the bags on her couch. "_Don't get into my personal life,"_ Jru had warned, agitated at the entire concept. Emily had lied to her once and although she didn't want to admit it, it felt like she was lying again.

"Okay," she said after a moment. "Listen, I don't mean to be rude but I hope you aren't planning to stay too long. I have to a spa day to prepare for a ball."

"I thought you weren't going…"she commented easily.

"Just some posturing…I have to go, my mother and father will be there," Jru confessed sadly. "And after my unfortunate accident during Christmas; it's about time for me to make an appearance."

"Well, are you allowed to bring a date?"

"I actually called Spencer this morning and asked her to come with me. After last night, I wasn't sure what we were. You should …check on Aria; I'm sure she still needs you."

"Is this you angry?" Emily frowned.

"No…practical…"

"Oh my god! Do your parents just let you buy any clothes you want?" Hanna trailed out of the bedroom with a look of disbelief on her face.

Jru turned to Hanna and shook her head no. "Most of the clothes in the closet, my mother or sister bought. Now, my extensive jean collection is all mines. I'm just kidding, but most of the things in there were bought by them. I'm usually just along for the ride…"

"What about Colby…does she send you a bunch of free clothes to wear?" Hanna eyes glistened with anticipation for the answer.

"Not much lately," Jru shot a quick glance to Emily and then headed back into the kitchen. She was being cold on purpose and as much as Emily didn't want it to bother her so much, it did. She didn't like this side of Jru even though she deserved it. "I've been rude… would you like anything to drink or to eat?"

"I'm fine…" Hanna said looking at the Dolce dress again.

Jru looked at Emily who looked away. "Hanna, did you see my 'vintage' collection. All old school from my mom's teenage days and stuff Colby found and pieced together."

"Where was that stuff?"

"In the cedar lined chest in my closet. The key is on top," Jru instructed. With new clothes to go through, Hanna happily disappeared again. Jru closed the distance between her and Emily. "Listen, I'm sorry but I did invite Spencer tonight. After you walked out last night…I assumed…"

"Jru can I have this?" Hanna anxiously walked into the living room carrying a pink and white blouse. "It's the cutest shirt I have ever seen!" she squealed.

Jru backed up from Emily a bit causing her to sigh in frustration. "Yeah, go ahead Hanna, take anything you want out of there. I never wear any of that stuff anyway." Jru's phone buzzed for the first time since she had set it up. "Dammit, it's my coach…he's supposed to let me know if I'm cleared to play today."

"Hold on, you want to play basketball this season?" Emily asked perplexed.

"I have to take this…" she walked towards the back of her apartment.

"Did you tell the truth?" Hanna whispered once Jru was out of earshot.

"I told her that Aria had an emergency."

"Oh, you guys have a healthy relationship built on the truth," Hanna giggled.

Emily's eyes shot from Hanna to Jru coming down the hallway. "What's the matter?" she asked gently seeing that her girlfriend was upset.

"I got cut from the team. My coach said the doctor wouldn't clear me to play so they are replacing me on the team," she answered sadly.

"Can they do that?" Emily wondered out loud.

"Yeah, they need my roster place free so they can add someone," Jru sighed. "Before it is near our tournament time. Uh…I don't mean to be rude but I kinda have a lot of stuff to do…"

Emily knew how Jru felt; she wouldn't know what to do without swimming. "Listen; call me after the Ball tonight, okay?"

"Yeah, no problem," she gave Emily a quick kiss, "see you later Hanna."

"Well, that accomplished nothing," Hanna sighed on their way back to Rosewood. Although Jru's closet had been the adventure she thought it would be, Emily still looked miserable and unsure of her relationship with Jru. "Why don't we just go …smack the hell out of Mona and tell her to never send another text message in her life…" Hanna suggested only half in jest.

"You know, that's not a half bad idea," Emily nodded with a fierce spark in her eye.

* * *

Hanna caught up with Emily in the nick of time; just before Emily lunged to smack Mona. Mona sat back, never one to be shocked, but she was amused. To think, Emily used to be the Liar that she assumed was the weakest. Jru Favors seemed to spark something different in Emily though; something that made her more protective than usual.

"Emily, Hanna, what do I own this honor?" Mona asked with mock shock. She had been a little harder to find today, but Hanna had tracked Mona down in a café close to the University of Pennsylvania. They had come there from time to time after shopping all day in Philadelphia. Now, Mona was setting up shop there it seemed.

"Stay away from Jru, Mona!" Emily warned.

"Jru…who is Jru?" Mona asked innocently. She flashed a smile at Hanna and smirked at Emily.

"You know who Jru is, Mona," Hanna sighed in frustration. "Just stay away from Emily's girlfriend."

Mona's eyes lit up like a match had been struck. "Girlfriend? You do move around quickly, Emily Fields. It is funny though…" Mona allowed her words to trail off. She enjoyed the pause for effect, could see the anger flash in Emily's eyes and appreciated the fact that she still had that effect on the girls. The time in Radley hadn't lessened any of her skills.

"What's funny about you being a lunatic Mona?" Emily asked quickly.

"Congresswoman Athena Favors is funny…it is said that she personally background checks everyone her children dates, what's your background check going to show, Emily?" she asked sweetly.

Emily picked up the cold glass of water in front of Mona and flung the content in her face. The chill halted the enjoyment Mona was getting from the conversation. "Listen closely Mona…stay away from Jru and don't ever threaten her again…" Emily turned to walk away.

"It's a nice picture …" Mona said plainly. Emily stopped, she wanted to turn around but she knew if she did a fight would ensue, so she continued on to her car. Before she got there her phone buzzed. A picture popped up on her screen; Athena, Kelly and Jru…the same one that was on the dresser in Jru's bedroom. It only took a second for the impact to hit Emily; A had been in Jru's apartment and Emily was sure, she wouldn't stop there.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Spencer watched Jru look at the pictures on the dresser, rearrange them and stand back for a moment. She still didn't have her three inch high heels on, but her black Dolce and Gabbana dress fit like a well fashioned glove. "What's the matter?" Spencer asked opening Jru's jewelry box and pulling out a pair of diamond earrings. "Can I borrow these?" she held them against her ear and watched them sparkle.

"Something is off…" was all Jru could say. She shook off the notion and refocused her efforts on getting dressed. "Oh yeah, go ahead and borrow the earrings."

"So, why aren't you bringing Emily to this wonderful opportunity to be bored?" Spencer questioned changing out her earrings. She moved back and looked at her blue and white knee length dress.

"You look wonderful…" Jru commented. She walked over to her closet and pulled out a black duffle bag. She checked through the bag meticulously, "We are not staying there long tonight…" she informed Spencer. "Just long enough to be seen and then … we have other things to do." She closed up the bag and stood up to look at the pictures again. Something was off and it was effectively driving her crazy. Still, she didn't have time to worry about it now. It was five forty-five and they needed to leave by at least six.

"So you aren't going to answer my question?" Spencer asked as Jru slipped into her heels, bent down to get the bag and led her out of the apartment.

"I don't know…my pictures are just off…"

"Not the pictures…why didn't you bring Emily to this thing?"

"Besides the fact that the Rittenhouse Ball is our cover?" Jru tossed the bag in her backseat and started the Jag.

"So there is no other reason that you are leaving your girlfriend behind on a Saturday night?"

Jru ignored the question once again, pulling out into the late day traffic. It would take them at least fifteen minutes to get to the other side of town and she really didn't want to have a fifteen minute conversation about Emily. There was really no neutral ground lately with her and Spencer. The conversation was either about Jru being in danger, her relationship with Emily or Spencer's silence on her relationship with Toby; all topics that Jru no longer wished to discuss.

"Can we talk about anything else?" Jru expelled a deep breath.

"Okay…" Spencer shrugged. "What is the Rittenhouse Ball for exactly?"

"I've never really understood," Jru explained. "But every year, I get a new dress, very uncomfortable shoes and some form of expensive diamonds that I love; so I don't really ask any questions when diamonds are involved."

"How are we going to leave this thing early?"

"I almost died three weeks ago…I'm pretty sure I can get out of a boring little Ball."

Jru didn't realize how wrong she was, from the time she and Spencer entered the ballroom, they were the focus of far too many people's attention. This, of course, included Jru's mother, Athena and her father, Andrew; who it seemed had been dying to spend a night with their daughter.

"So you will come out for a Ball, but not dinner with your poor mother and father?" Athena pouted noticeable. Athena had given all of her features and personality to Kelly, but Jru was obviously her favorite child. Her green eyes lit up when Spencer and her daughter entered the room and hadn't stopped yet. "I also assumed you would be bringing Emily, but it is obvious that you are ashamed of us."

"Just of dad, not of you, Mom," Jru smiled and picked through her salad for the last of the snap peas. "Mom, I missed one dinner that you had planned…one. And it was the day I got my stitches out …I was exhausted."

Athena shifted in her seat and smiled. "I think you just want to keep Emily away from us," she commented easily. "Are you afraid we will embarrass you?"

Jru looked at her father, who was nursing a Scotch on the rocks and saying nothing, and laughed. "Well, dad rarely talks so I'm not worrying about him embarrassing me." Jru looked like her father and they shared the same disposition, which at times worried Athena. Jru was too even and good natured for what Athena ultimately had planned for her younger daughter. "Mom, I'm not embarrassed by you."

"Hmm…" Athena processed the words. "Wilhelmina Merchant asked about you the other day. I was in Brooklyn for business and she asked how you were after the accident. Her son, Jeffery the fifth is at University of Penn also, and she readily believes that you two will be a brilliant pair," Athena informed her daughter.

Jru rubbed her head in frustration. The downside to being Athena Favor's daughter was the fact that every mother treated her as marriage stock for their boring, balding at mid-twenty sons. It was what was done, even in this day and age; the daughters of the wealthy and powerful were married to the sons of the same. The fact that Jru was openly gay was only seen as a mild speed bump on her way to marrying the right man.

Jru took a sip of her water and hated that she was even going to ask the next question. "And what was your response to that, Mom?" Jru waited with bated breath to hear Athena's answer. Her mother never had a hard time voicing her opinions about anything, but when it came to the conversation of Jru's sexuality, she was decidedly more reserved. Jru had worried for a while that it was because she disappointed deep down inside, but Kelly assured it that was not the case. '_She even stays out of my sex life_,' Kelly had told her the first time they talked about the subject. _'She doesn't care that you sleep with women…although she is going to die that her baby is sleeping with anyone.'_

Athena stared at her daughter strangely. "Sweetheart, I told her you are gay and that you are dating a very beautiful young lady that you won't even let me talk to, so you must really like her." Athena waited until the waiters served the main course of the meal. "And then I may have simply suggested that she change her son's name, because once you get to the 'fifth' it isn't cute anymore," Athena grinned before cutting into her lamb. Spencer nearly choked on her water.

"Well, you won't have to worry about getting her vote in the next election," Kelly sighed coming over to the table. She was more than ninety minutes late, but flawlessly fashioned as usual. Now that Kelly was at the Ball, Jru knew that she and Spencer could leave without leaving that much of a hole in her mother's night. As long as there was one of her daughters there, Athena rarely complained.

Jru and Spencer did make it through dessert, but as soon as it was time to mingle with the other patrons of the ball, they excused themselves. "Can you get the bag from the car, I packed us some clothes," she informed Spencer. She handed her the keys and the valet ticket, but smoothly disappeared into the crowd. Jru found the woman she needed to talk to quickly. Marissa Saint stood near the bar ordering a white wine and gin martini, and was surprised when Jru approached her.

"Jru Favors…I heard you were deceased," she said snidely. She took a sip of the martini and waited for Jru to speak. There was no surprise that Marissa disliked Jru. In Marissa's mind Jru had broken her sister's heart. She had listened to Colby cry for two whole months once she and Jru had broken up and Marissa couldn't help but hate Jru a little.

"Now that's not nice, Marissa," Jru chided. She wasn't at all put off by Marissa's attitude towards her; she knew that Kelly would be the same way if she thought someone broke her heart. "I won't bore you with pleasantries…I need to employ your services." Marissa finished the martini in one smooth gulp and turned back to Jru.

"Need my services?" Marissa feigned shock. "What would a nice wholesome angel like you need my services for? Break someone's heart and she's hacking your phone or something?" She started on the white wine now, slowly savoring the taste and what she assumed should be Jru squirming at this point. Still, Jru wouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing that. "What exactly do you need, angel?"

Jru handed her a piece of folded paper. "Anything you can tell me about this address. Who owns it, lives here, the goings and comings from this house…the routine stuff?"

She opened the piece of paper and nodded. "Give me two days and I will call you…routine stuff right, nothing shady in the works for you, right?"

"Do I look shady?" Jru questioned smoothly.

Marissa couldn't help but laugh. Jru had a tricky charm about her that made it impossible to dislike her for too long of a period. "I'll have the information to you early next week…"

"I'm going to pay in cash, so I'll drop your money off …"

"Don't bother…I'll consider this a personal favor for you…I'll get back to you probably by Monday."

"And of course…no one can know…"

"Of course…whatever secret you have …it is safe with me…" Still, before Jru had disappeared through the crowd, Marissa had pulled out her phone to text her little sister.

"Where do you think you are going?" Kelly stopped her little sister before she could get to the other side of the room. She had been watching her sister talk to Marissa Saint and she didn't like it.

"Kelly…I am not staying a second more at this boring ass Ball…thanks for the dress though; I've gotten rave reviews and a number of photographers chasing me."

"It does look stunning on you," Kelly took a step back to look at the fit of the dress on her sister. "Now, what were you talking to Marissa Saint for?"

"You talk to Marissa Saint all the time…"

"Never when I am up to any good…" Jru tried to move around her sister, but Kelly blocked her. "Don't make me find out on my own, little sister," she bent to kiss Jru's cheek for good measure, "because I always find out."

* * *

"My sister is going to be on our asses soon," Jru announced. She and Spencer were alone in the bathroom of the ballroom changing into something more 'sleuthing appropriate.' This ended up being jeans and a tee shirt for Spencer and a pair of black leather pants and black tee shirt for Jru."We need to figure out whatever it is about this cabin you need to know…before she figures out what we are up to."

"What does your sister know already?" Spencer questioned.

"Nothing, besides the fact that I was talking to Marissa Saint…" Jru said pulling her curls back into a tight ponytail. "And Kelly doesn't like me talking to Marissa Saint."

"I thought she loved the Saint family," Spencer said picking up the duffle bag and handing it to Jru. "Listen, we don't have to do this tonight." They headed out the back of the building and into the parking lot where Jru's car was parked.

"When would be a better time to do this? After my horrible load of classes start or after I'm spending five hours a week in science labs, or how about when Kelly gets bored enough to really start checking into what I'm up to? The window for this little adventure is going to be very small, so we can find out …or not…"

"Okay, let's not," Spencer said finally.

Jru leaned on the hood of her car and sighed. She wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed, "Dammit, I was looking forward to using my night vision goggles." She unlocked the car doors and got inside her car.

"Why exactly do you have night vision goggles?" Spencer asked as they headed back towards Jru's apartment.

"Nighttime hide-in-go-seek of course," Jru couldn't help but laugh. She became sober after a moment. "What changed your mind about going back to that house?"

"I'm afraid of what I may find…and since it seems like this isn't going to touch you …I don't care anymore. I really don't want to know."

"What exactly did you think you were going to find?"

"The truth…"

"I've been begging for about two weeks to have the team's doctors examine me, so that maybe I could return to the roster before the end of the season. So they call me this morning, while Emily and Hanna were at the apartment, and tell me that I won't be playing this year. And to make me feel just a little worse, my coach tells me I'm never going to play on the team again because I have a medical condition that prevents that now. See sometimes, Spencer, you don't want to know…" she parked her Jag in front of her building. "Still, I've never known you to be afraid Spencer…"

"Sometimes it is safer to be afraid, Jru."

Jru got out of the car, "What do I do with the information Marissa turns up?" They were walking towards Spencer's car now.

"You should probably just keep it to yourself," Spencer decided. "The less I know…the better I may feel."

"Fair…" Jru leaned against Spencer's car. "Thanks for ruining your night with me…I don't think I could have done the Rittenhouse Ball without you.

"You could have gone with Emily…" Spencer was fishing again, but Jru was a lot better at concealing her true feelings than Spencer assumed she would be.

"Text me when you get home safely, Spencer," Jru closed Spencer's car door gently. She didn't really want to think about Emily, and at least if she was falling off the roof of a house, she wouldn't be thinking about her. However now, heading up the stairway to an empty apartment, little else was on her mind but Emily.

Jru's apartment was quiet but lights were peppered throughout the space. Jru figured that would deter anyone from entering her apartment; as if anyone would be entering her apartment… she kept telling herself that. _No one is coming into your apartment moving your things around Jru._ She had told herself at least a million times since this morning, but something still felt off. She entered her bedroom and looked at the picture again; the one of her, Kelly and their mother. She reached out to touch it, but a sound at her front door stopped her.

"Spencer, did you forget something," Jru asked making her way back into the living room. She opened the door, but instead of seeing Spencer, she inhaled a large amount of gas. Her eyes fluttered for a second, trying desperately to focus, but it was too late. She could hear footsteps faintly moving around her and just as she was about to hit the floor, someone caught her. She was laid down on the floor gently and although she tried desperately, she couldn't pull together enough strength to sit up.

"Can she hear us?" one of the voices asked in a whisper. No one answered but Jru could feel someone lift her up gently. She tried to open her eyes, but she felt everything going painfully numb and dark at the same time.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen 

Emily quickly threw herself into the deep blue depths of the Olympic size pool and cut effortlessly through the water. She was determined this morning, determined to put last night behind her. She was still rattled at the fact that Jru didn't want her to come to the ball, and on top of that, the fact that Jru didn't even make an effort to call her after she had returned home. Jru had a right to be angry with her, yet everything about Jru's anger was unsettling to Emily. It was obvious that anger didn't come naturally to Jru, but she had managed to fortify her defense against Emily.

"You are swimming pretty fiercely today…" Paige commented once Emily stopped for a moment. Emily hadn't noticed Paige enter the pool area, but she had been watching Emily shred through the water for the last five minutes. "Is something wrong, Em?" she had known Emily long enough to know when something was wrong. She tended to swim harder and faster when something was getting on her nerves and this morning she was on a tear.

Emily moved to the side of the pool and climbed out. "Yeah, a lot on my mind, I guess," Emily admitted gently. "I just wanted to work out some of the kinks before the meet on Tuesday and I don't see myself getting in much swim time tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'm a little nervous too," Paige said debating on whether to jump into the pool or stay dry. She relished the times she was able to speak to Emily alone and since she had started dating Jru, those times were few and far between. "There are supposed to be some scouts there I think."

"Yeah, I think the coach from University of Penn is going to be there," Emily offered a little too eagerly. She had been thinking about it for a while and since she and Jru were together now, a scholarship offer from there would be wonderful. The education would be great, her mother would appreciate that, and it would be all paid for, which her father would appreciate; but most of all she would be closer to Jru.

"Oh, so you want to be closer to her?" Paige still couldn't say Jru's name without cringing internally. She still loved Emily and couldn't really take the feeling of her loving someone like Jru.

"It's a great college Paige, that's all," Emily downplayed her desire to be near Jru. "Ivy League, full scholarship, anyone would be happy about it," she wrapped a towel around her, but sat on the edge of the pool. Paige sat down next to her and dipped her feet into the pool.

"You definitely deserve it, but there are some scouts that will be there too…" Paige offered lightly. "But I'm sure Jru wants you to be near her."

"I'm not so sure," Emily mumbled kicking some water into the middle of the pool.

"…is there something wrong between the two of you?" Paige began fishing for information. Her hopes were desperately hanging on the thread of what Emily's answer to that question would be.

"It's difficult with her sometimes," Emily sighed choosing her words slowly. "She doesn't know my history or about "A" and she's so innocent in all of this. I can't pull her into a bunch of craziness…she deserves something easy…something better."

"There is nothing better than you," Paige assured her. "Do you know how lucky she is to have you?" Paige asked sincerely.

"I don't think she is feeling that too much," Emily stood. "You wanna swim a few laps?"

Paige stood also and shrugged. "Sure," she dived into the pool. Emily followed close behind and they swam for a while. It helped take her mind off of Jru for a while and Emily appreciated that fact.

"So do you want to grab some lunch or something?" Emily asked after they were dressed and heading outside. The question caught Paige by surprise.

"Are you sure?" she questioned cautiously. She didn't want to get her hopes up, but she missed Emily terribly. She missed their friendship, she missed the fact that Emily could push her with swimming more than anyone else; but most of all, she just plainly missed Emily. There were so few people like Emily and since she had started dating Jru, it seemed like any hope of interactions with her was a million miles away.

"We are allowed to be friends, Paige," Emily smiled. "Having lunch isn't a crime…"

Paige took a deep breath, trying to shield herself from Emily's smile. "As long as it's not a crime…"

* * *

Spencer assumed picking the lock to an expensive apartment building's door like the one Jru lived in would be a lot more difficult than it ended up being. It had only taken a second before the lock gave and clicked, giving Spencer, Aria and Hanna access to Jru's apartment. "I think I'm becoming way too good at picking locks," Spencer shook her head slowly. She joked around when she was nervous and Spencer had to admit, she was definitely nervous. She had sent Jru a text message last night when she had gotten home safely, but hadn't heard back from her.

"Why are we breaking into someone's apartment on a suspicion?" Hanna asked for the third time. Jru's car was out front and there was really no reason to assume that anything was wrong.

"Yeah Spencer, Hanna is kinda right. We are breaking into someone's apartment for no real reason. She could just be sleeping after a boring night at a ball."

"I just have a feeling," Spencer explained once again. "And as many times as we rung that stupid doorbell, she would have answered the door." Spencer entered the apartment followed by Hanna and Aria. The lights were still on, but the sunlight drowned out the extra illumination. "Jru…Jru…sorry if you are asleep …" Spencer walked back to the bedroom. The bed was made up and nothing seemed out of place.

"Is she this meticulous all the time?" Aria questioned looking around. This was her first time in Jru's apartment and it was amazing how immaculate it was.

Spencer walked back into the living room. "Yeah, she has always been this organized. Her car is out front…she's not answering her phone and she's not here."

"Maybe she went somewhere with her sister," Aria offered. "Or mom or dad. I'm sure there is a simple explanation for this."

"Hanna you are being really quiet," Spencer turned her attention away from Aria. Hanna was never quiet for more than three seconds in a row and she had been quiet for most of the ride over to Jru's apartment and was still quiet. "What's going on?"

"Mona said she had been in Jru's apartment," Hanna blurted out. She had been trying to hold back, just praying that Jru was at home in bed sleeping, but now that her apartment was empty…

"What do you mean?" Aria's eyes widened in disbelief, "Mona said she had been here?"

"She mentioned something about a picture and Emily went ballistic."

"When!" Spencer screamed but didn't mean to. "Hanna, why didn't you or Emily call me?"

"And say what? Emily handled it and we really didn't believe that Mona was serious. Jru is Athena Favor's daughter …who would really mess with her!"

"Crazy, bad ideas don't stop Mona, Hanna! It doesn't stop A, and it's damn sure not going to protect Jru!" Spencer argued. "Why didn't you and Emily just tell me this yesterday?"

"Because you were with Jru; we figured she'd be safe at least through today…" Hanna responded only somewhat sarcastically.

"I'm going to call her sister…" Spencer rolled her eyes. "Aria can you see if you can find Emily please?" They had stopped by her house before coming to Jru's and her mother said she was preparing for Tuesday's swim meet.

"No problem…" Aria started dialing.

* * *

"I miss you," Paige admitted slowly. "I mean, I miss our friendship; being able to hang out with you and see you every day."

"We can see each other Paige," Emily laughed. "We can hang out and swim together and have lunch."

"And your new girlfriend isn't going to come punch me in the face?" Paige asked only half jokingly.

"Jru is not the jealous type," Emily smiled. "She has this really quiet confidence where nothing bothers her; or at least I think. She never lets on that anything bothers her." Emily paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, is this weird; to be talking about Jru?"

"No it's fine," Paige pushed her away her coffee mug. "So she's like perfect…"

"No, not perfect," Emily shook her head. "If nothing else, it seems that she can hold a grudge." She looked down at her cell phone wishing that Jru would at least text her. "And I'm pretty sure her sister hates me too. She always gives me these dirty looks like I'm nowhere near good enough for her sister."

"You are good enough for her Emily…" Paige reached across the table and placed her hand over top of Emily. Emily didn't pull back immediately; it wasn't until Emily's phone buzzed that she pulled her hand away to check it.

"It's Aria…" Emily revealed answering the phone. "Hey Aria…no Jru isn't with me, Paige and I are having lunch. What do you mean missing? I'm sure she is just with Kelly or her parents…" Emily pushed her seat back and stood up. "No, I haven't heard from her today or last night. She's probably just at her apartment…what do you mean you are at her apartment…and she's not there? Okay, I'll be right there."

"Something wrong?" Paige sighed. Of course something would be getting in the way of her and Emily's alone time. It was as if Emily's friends could radar in on when they were together and ruin it.

Emily was unsure how to answer that question. "No…I'm not sure. I have to meet the girls at Hanna's, so we'd better be heading out…"

"Do you want me to go with you?" It was a stupid thing to offer, but it seemed like Emily was a bit shaken by the phone conversation and Paige didn't want to leave her alone.

Emily considered the offer for a moment. It would be a horrible idea to take Paige with her, but something about the offer was sweet. "No, I'll be fine," Emily said after a while. "Can I call you later?"

Paige's eyes lit up; "Yeah sure," she smiled.

"Okay, I'll call you later," Emily promised.

* * *

"Emily should have been here by now," Spencer said looking at Hanna's wall clock. It was a bit past one in the afternoon and Spencer's patience was wearing thin. "I thought you said she was at the school; that's like five minutes from here…"

"I said at lunch," Aria mumbled. There was no way to tell Spencer that Emily was at lunch with Paige without her hitting the ceiling. Unfortunately, Spencer still held close in her mind that things were not entirely over between Paige and Emily and that irking suspicion would cause a rupture in the balance of their friendship. Aria had noticed the tension since Emily and Jru began dating. "Did you hear back from Jru's sister, Spencer?"

"She just texted me and said that Jru wasn't with her and their mother had flown out this morning… I don't know where else she would be! If there was any way she could contact me, she would call back! What else did Mona say, Hanna?"

Hanna rubbed her temples, "Just something about the picture…which set Emily off."

"Seems like if it set Emily off, she would at least show up now that Jru is missing…"

"We don't know for sure that she is missing," Aria reminded her. Spencer cut her eyes at Aria, but refrained from making a comment.

"If Emily doesn't get here soon, I'm going back to Philadelphia," Spencer threatened hastily. She stood and paced the room again. She didn't know if this was guilt getting to her or a genuine need to know where Jru was; either way, her desire to find Jru was mounting. Perhaps if they had gone back to the cabin last night, she would know where Jru was; or perhaps if she had just spent the night…

"She's probably with Paige," Hanna said out of the blue. Aria gasped, wanting desperately to stop Hanna's words.

"With Paige?" Spencer questioned slowly. "What would she be doing with Paige?"

"Training I'm sure," Aria cut in. "They are two of the best swimmers…they push one another."

It was Spencer who did not know the truth; that if things had gone differently that one night, Emily and Jru would not be together. Emily had chosen Paige, but after Jru's accident it was impossible to stay away from Jru. It wasn't that Emily did not want Jru, but it also didn't mean that she didn't want Paige also.

"Would you be swimming with someone else because they pushed you if Ezra was missing?" Aria didn't have to answer because she could hear Emily in the foyer.

"What took you so long?" Spencer began without preamble.

"I was having lunch Spencer…"

"With Paige?" Spencer questioned openly.

"Yes, with Paige…as friends."

"Well, it's funny how your girlfriend is missing and you are out having 'friendly' lunches with your not so distant ex-girlfriend," Spencer accused.

"Hey you two…this isn't helping anyone," Aria reminded Spencer more than Emily. Still, it didn't squash the argument that was coming.

"If you have something to say Spencer, please don't hold back," Emily warned.

"Oh, I have no intention of holding back…"

"Why don't we talk about where the hell Jru is!" Aria was finally getting tired of the situation.

"Jru is still missing?" the reality of the situation finally hit Emily. Her breath caught in her throat as she turned to Aria, then to Hanna. Her eyes connected with Hanna and Hanna could feel her fear. They were both thinking the same thing; that somehow Mona wasn't joking and that Jru's disappearance had everything to do with Emily. "Could A have really gotten to her?" The guilt washed over her like a wave. While she was enjoying swimming and lunch, A's cruelty had reached Jru, like it reached everyone they cared about. "You were with her last night…" she stammered towards Spencer.

"Only during the ball! She hates those events, we left early and I came home…" Spencer admitted. "We had a very simple mission…to get through the ball and escape as quickly as possible." Spencer conveniently left out the part in which she and Jru intended to go back to a mysterious A lair. "Why wouldn't you have called and told me that Mona had even hinted about being in Jru's apartment?"

"I thought I had handled it," Emily muttered. "But I may have just provoked her…"

"You can't blame yourself for this…" Hanna soothed.

"Yeah Em, this is not your fault at all," Aria agreed. "And Jru will turn up…even Mona and her crew isn't crazy enough to mess with someone from as powerful a family as Jru…" Aria stopped her words when Spencer's phone began buzzing on the table in front of them. Spencer picked it up quickly; but the message wasn't from Jru or Kelly; instead it read…

** -Burning buildings get rid of the most evidence; let's hope LEATHER IS FIREPROOF**

**-A**

"Is that Jru…what does it say?" Emily asked even though she figured Jru would call instead of text. She peered over Spencer shoulder as Hanna and Aria gathered around.

"What does that even mean?" Aria questioned warily. Yet everyone already knew what that meant…Jru was in a lot of trouble.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Jru couldn't figure out if it was the hot sheering pain of the beam that fell ever-so-closely to her exposed flesh, or the mounting black smoke that was engulfing her atmosphere that woke her in time enough. It was barely in time…but someone had started the fire wrong; top down so now the roof was caving in on her but she had time to escape. Jru pulled herself onto her feet and unlike the first time she was in this cabin, she didn't give a damn about preserving the space this time. She picked up a sturdy chair and swung fiercely at the glass pane of the window. It wouldn't budge the first time, and the second time only produced a faint hairline crack in the heavy frame. The smoke was beginning to cloud her vision and her lungs, but it was life or death in these moments. She swung again and again until finally a substantial portion of the glass fell to the outside. She used her elbow to clear the rest and climbed painful through the remaining shards to the outside.

Lumbering a safe distance into the small wooded area just behind the cabin, Jru allowed herself the coughing fit she had been so terribly trying to avoid. The pain was excruciating; far worse than the pain that accompanied her broken ribs or partial spleen removal. This pain started in her throat and permeated through her body several times over. She really couldn't gather herself until she heard the sirens. The neighbors had wasted no time, afraid that their pieces of property and woods were in grave danger also. She escaped a bit further into the woods to shield herself. She couldn't explain why she was there; come to think of it, she had no idea how or why she was there. She only knew that now she could barely take in a proper amount of air and that her black long sleeve shirt was seared to her flesh from a fallen beam from the roof. It could have been a lot worse but as she tried to pull the material away from her ribcage she couldn't think of many things that were. Her ribcages were now competing with one another for which was more injured.

Jru leaned against the tree trying desperately to remember anything from the previous night. The last thing she remembered…hell, she didn't remember the last thing she remembered! Another fit of coughs pushed through her body and she could barely remain standing. Another trip to the emergency room or the hospital was out of the question. Jru patted her pockets… her cell phone, missing, her money, nonexistent and she had no idea where her keys were.

The blue and red lights from police cars and fire trucks flashed off of the trees. Jru could only imagine how she looked, so it was perhaps her best option to take the woods to road or wherever she was going.

After less than a mile, Jru's mental pleas for death were so loud she figured they were almost audible. Still, she pushed through the nearly two and a half miles it took to find the outer bounds of the woods. In that time she had come up with two significant revelations; one, she could remember only one number from all of her contacts list and two, if she didn't sit down soon, she was going to pass out. However, she could see the gas station off of the main highway and she might as well push through the pain.

Jru couldn't believe that there were actually still payphones in service but she was happy as hell that there was. She collect-called the only ten numbers she could remember at that time and prayed for someone to answer. Colby did, after five rings. "You are where?" she questioned in disbelief. "I think I know how to get there. I'll be there soon," Colby promised with no hesitation. Jru hung up, settled on one of the concrete steps leading up to the store and hoped she didn't look as bad as she felt.

* * *

"Oh my gosh, you look terrible!" Colby moaned helping Jru to her black SUV. Colby only confirmed what Jru already knew. The strange looks she had been getting from the people going in and out of the store were enough to confirm it. Some of her shirt was clinging to her taut midsection and some of the pieces that were burned were glued to her hip. She smelled of smoke and burning wood and the constant fits of coughing were disconcerting enough. The fact that she 'didn't want to talk about it,' only drove Colby into more frustration.

"You are going to explain this," Colby warned heading to the highway. Jru only closed her eyes to bothersome sunlight and tried to relax. She was alive… "Does that fire truck have anything to do with your appearance?" Colby continued to pry as she watched the red vehicle fly pass her car. Jru opened her eyes and sat up.

"Yeah," was all she answered.

"Are you in trouble, Jru?" Colby's voice trembled.

"Maybe…I would answer more honestly but I don't remember anything really…" The pain coursing through the rest of her body had given Jru reason to forget the intense headache that had been brewing since she had awoke.

"What does that mean?" When Jru didn't answer, Colby continued. "Marissa called me last night and told me you had requested her 'services'."

Jru stared at her, confused. She couldn't really remember anything relevant before waking up beside a burning piece of roof. Why in the hell would she be talking to Marissa Saint? A person she was positive wanted to punch her in the face.

"Do you want to go back to your apartment…?" Colby asked.

"No!" Jru answered instinctively. She didn't know why right now, but her apartment was off limits. "Can we go back to yours or just drop me off at Kelly's?"

Colby look at her cautiously. "We can go back to mine," Colby nodded. They didn't make any more conversations until they were safely inside of Colby's apartment. "I'm going to run you a bath because I'm pretty sure it's going to take a good soaking to get the smell of burning wood off of your skin." Jru looked at her pitifully, somewhere between totally embarrassment and the desire to just fall apart and cry in Colby's arms. She rejected both feelings and instead went about the business of removing her scorched shirt. It pulled from her body with some efforts but left a deep, purple blister against her caramel skin.

"What do you do for burns?" she asked Colby once she returned from her bathroom.

"Wow, that's a second degree burn. I'll make that a cool bath," she turned to go back to the bathroom. "Okay, all ready," Colby managed a tiny smile. "I'll leave clothes outside the door. You're a bit taller than me, but I think I have something that can work…"

"Colby, thanks," Jru lumbered toward the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Nearly an hour later, she emerged looking and smelling better, but utterly exhausted. "You should lie down," Colby suggested, trying to ignore the way Jru allowed the sweatpants to hang from her hips in order to make them long enough. There were a few other blisters on her hip flexor that gave Colby some concern, but she shook off the urge to mention them. "You look like you could use some rest."

"Amazingly enough, I'm well rested," Jru revealed. She sat gingerly on the bed beside Colby. "I may be in real trouble, Colby." She closed her eyes and let the few images that had come flooding back to wash over her. She remembered getting home from the Rittenhouse Ball, thinking that Spencer had come back to her apartment door and then everything went black until she woke up. "What did Marissa say I talked to her about last night?" she was trying frantically to piece this whole mess together, but all she could remember is collapsing.

"She didn't exactly tell me. Only that you were acting strangely, which could mean anything since you two talking is strange. So did something happen after the Rittenhouse Ball?"

Jru thought for a moment, "Yeah, I got home, was going towards my bedroom and someone was at the door. I thought it was Spencer, but I just remember passing out…"

"And you wore leather pants and a black long sleeve shirt to the Rittenhouse ball?" Colby tried to make sense of the situation but it was confusing as hell. "And where was your girlfriend, Emily?"

"I'm seriously not trying to be an ass…I don't remember Colby," Jru's eyes filled with tears. She wasn't exactly sure if it was pain or the fear that she was in over her head that made her breakdown and cry.

"Hey…hey…it's okay," Colby soothed. "We'll figure this out together, okay?"

"I can't pull you into this mess," Jru wiped her eyes and then her fingers settled on her temples. "Colby, just give me some time to figure everything out, okay?"

"How am I supposed to agree to that?" Colby asked standing. She still couldn't understand why Jru didn't realize how much she loved her. The fact that Jru could be in danger frightened the hell out of her and there was nothing she could. Coming off as over protective would threaten their friendship; not only for the fact that she was with Emily, but because Jru truly believed that when they were together Colby was just after attention.

"Trust me; I'll sort this all out and everything will be fine." Jru sounded more confident than she actual was and that calmed both she and Colby for a moment. After a while, Jru sighed. "I feel like I should call someone and let them know where I am," she frowned, following a long yawn. Her nerves had settled a bit being with Colby and now her needs that were placed on the backburner bubbled to the surface. She was starving and on top of that, now exhaustion was beginning to creep in. Perhaps being blacked-out wasn't the same to the body as actual sleep.

"Well, rest, I'll call Kelly and tell her you are with me. That way, if your family is worried, they won't be, okay? And then I'll see what is actually in my fridge or I'll order out because I doubt I have anything good."

"Colby…you don't have to …" Jru realized she was asking too much of her friend.

"Hey…I won't take no for an answer," Colby winked as she walked towards the living room. She did as she told Jru she would and called Kelly. Kelly, knowing that she was at least safe with Colby, asked few questions about why her little sister was with her. For some reason, Kelly always liked Colby and there was this private understanding that Colby would always look out for Jru. Only now, Colby wasn't so sure she could deliver on that understanding.

"I think I need to call Spencer Hastings," Jru sighed when Colby got back to the room.

"Why Spencer and not your girlfriend?"

"My girlfriend is not looking for me most likely…things weren't exactly great between us yesterday…."

"Well I don't know Spencer's number…I do happen to know your girlfriend's number," Colby admitted shyly. She tossed her cell phone towards Jru. "So you'd better call her."

It would have been pathetic to admit that she wasn't sure she wanted to talk to Emily, so Jru did the dutiful thing and dialed her girlfriend's number.


End file.
